What is the Plural of Software? | The Word Counter

What Is the Definition of the Word Software?

The word software means:

• something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware: such as
  • software programs, software packages, pieces of software, software applications, software products, software solutions, software company, system software, etc.
  • Ex. Microsoft Word
• dated: the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a mechanical or electronic system and especially a computer system
• materials for use with audiovisual equipment
  • … television programs, music, and movies are now called software, by the way …— Robert Bixby

What Is the Plural Form of Software?

The word software is an uncountable noun as it’s a collective noun or a mass noun. So the plural form of software would still be spelled the same way as it is in its singular form “software”. This is true if you are talking about different types of software or multiple programs open at the same time.

The History and Origin of the Word

The first time that you can find the word software used in a sentence is in 1952. It was used as defined by the second definition above “the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a mechanical or electronic system and especially a computer system”. 

http://www.jackeapen.com/index.php/2008/06/22/who-coined-the-term-software/ “John Wilder Tukey, the renowned American statistician coined the 2 most popular (computer) words we use – software and bit. The term software first appeared in 1952 in an article he wrote.” – http://www.jackeapen.com/index.php/2008/06/22/who-coined-the-term-software/

“…Mr. Tukey developed important theories about how to analyze data and compute series of numbers quickly. He spent decades as both a professor at Princeton University and a researcher at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, and his ideas continue to be a part of both doctoral statistics courses and high school math classes. In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon awarded him the National Medal of Science…” –http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/28/us/john-tukey-85-statistician-coined-the-word-software.html

Types of Software and Examples

Application Software Type

Examples

Word processing software

MS Word, WordPad and Notepad

Database software

Oracle, MS Access etc

Spreadsheet software

Apple Numbers, Microsoft Excel

Multimedia software

Real Player, Media Player

Presentation Software

Microsoft Power Point, Keynotes

Enterprise Software

Customer relationship management system

Information Worker Software

Documentation tools, resource management tools

Educational Software

Dictionaries: Encarta, BritannicaMathematical: MATLABOthers: Google Earth, NASA World Wind

Simulation Software

Flight and scientific simulators

Content Access Software

Accessing content through media players, web browsers

Application Suites

OpenOffice, Microsoft Office

Software for Engineering and Product Development

IDE or Integrated Development Environments

Words Related to Software

• Operating system – computer software for basic operation
• Program – is a collection of instructions that can be executed by a computer to perform a specific task.
• Spreadsheet – an electronic document in which data is arranged in the rows and columns of a grid and can be manipulated and used in calculations.

Examples of the Word in Context

Summary

Now you are an expert on all things related to the word of the day: software. Next time you need to write the word software you will be well prepared for everything you need to know what it is and how to do it efficiently within the English language. 

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