מַחְשֵׁב (makhshev) / מַדְפֶּסֶת (madpeset) — computer / printer

Etymology

Israel's first electronic computer, the WEIZAC (Weizmann Automatic Computer), was built at the Weizmann Institute in 1955 at the initiative of Prof. Chaim Leib Pekeris, who made it a condition of accepting leadership of the applied mathematics department. The machine was equipped with a Flexowriter teleprinter — but no Hebrew word existed for it. Prof. Aviezri Fraenkel, who worked on the WEIZAC from the project's beginning, later recalled: "We only spoke English. I don't think there was a Hebrew word for it. We simply called it the 'Flexowriter' or 'Teleprinter.'" A 1958 lecture by Raphael Bar-On of the Central Bureau of Statistics referred to the teleprinter simply as "מְכוֹנַת כְּתִיבָה" (typewriter).

Friction between Weizmann Institute scientists and IDF officers over computing time led the army to acquire its own machine. On June 15, 1959, the IDF computing unit — MAMRAM (Center for Computers and Computerized Records) — was established under Mordechai Kikyon, subordinate to Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin. In August 1959, Kikyon coined the Hebrew term מַדְפִּיסָה in a circular distributed to relevant IDF commanders: "Subject: מַדְפִּיסָה (HIGHSPEED PRINTER) for the MAMRAM computer — the type of printer must be determined, taking into account the requirement for both Hebrew and English printing." This was the term used in the IDF's computing unit for its first years of operation. The Philco 2000 computer arrived in Israel on July 18, 1961.

When IBM began marketing its 1401 system in Israel in 1962, its printing unit was called "מְלַוֶּחֶת" (from לוּחַ, tablet) — a translation of "tabulator." But when IBM announced the landmark System/360 in 1964, that machine's printer was called "מַדְפֶּסֶת." The 360 entered the Israeli market from 1965 onward, purchased by the IDF, Bank Leumi, El Al, the Technion, and the government. From IBM the term spread among Israel's first computer users, and before the decade's end "מַדְפֶּסֶת" had displaced Kikyon's "מַדְפִּיסָה" even within the IDF. Albert Einstein reportedly visited the Weizmann Institute and marveled: "Such a small country — what will it do with such a large computer?"

Key Quotes

"יש לקבוע את סוג המדפיסה, בהתחשב בדרישה לאפשרויות ההדפסה בעברית ובאנגלית" — מרדכי קיקיון, חוזר צבאי, אוגוסט 1959

"מדינה כזו קטנה, מה היא תעשה עם מחשב כזה גדול?" — אלברט איינשטיין (מיוחס), 1955

Timeline

• 1955: WEIZAC built at Weizmann Institute; teleprinter has no Hebrew name
• 1958: Raphael Bar-On's lecture uses "מְכוֹנַת כְּתִיבָה" for teleprinter
• June 15, 1959: MAMRAM established under Mordechai Kikyon
• August 1959: Kikyon coins "מַדְפִּיסָה" in IDF circular
• July 18, 1961: Philco 2000 arrives in Israel; ceremonial activation by Rabin
• September 1962: IBM Israel uses "מְלַוֶּחֶת" for printer of 1401 system
• 1964–1965: IBM System/360 introduced; printer called "מַדְפֶּסֶת"
• Late 1960s: "מַדְפֶּסֶת" fully displaces "מַדְפִּיסָה"

Related Words

• מַחְשֵׁב — computer (root ח-ש-ב, to think/calculate)
• מַמְרָ״ם — IDF computing center acronym
• מְלַוֶּחֶת — IBM Israel's 1962 term for printer/tabulator (from לוּחַ)
• מַדְפִּיסָה — Kikyon's 1959 coinage, displaced by מַדְפֶּסֶת