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digital (adj.)

mid-15c., "pertaining to numbers below ten;" 1650s, "pertaining to fingers," from Latin digitalis, from digitus "finger or toe" (see digit). The numerical sense is because numerals under 10 were counted on fingers. Meaning "using numerical digits" is from 1938, especially of computers which run on data in the form of digits (opposed to analogue) after c. 1945. In reference to recording or broadcasting, from 1960.

Origin and meaning of digital

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Definitions of digital from WordNet

digital (adj.)
displaying numbers rather than scale positions;
digital clock
digital readout
digital (adj.)
relating to or performed with the fingers;
digital examination
digital (adj.)
of a circuit or device that represents magnitudes in digits;
digital computer
From wordnet.princeton.edu