Hammer

I really wanted to use "computer" as my word, but unfortunately could not find any information on its etymology in the AHD. Therefore, I went to the next best thing that many people associate with computers: a hammer.

"Hammer" actually comes from Old English, hamor, but was passed on through Middle English, changing to hamer, and can be both a noun and a verb. Meaning many things, I believe the most common thought for hammer is something used as a striking tool. Or, in some cases, a computer-fixer.

The AHD actually gives five noun definitions and eight verb definitions:

"Noun:
1. A hand tool that has a handle with a perpendicularly attached head of metal or other heavy rigid material, and is used for striking or pounding. 2. A tool or device similar in function or action to this striking tool, as: a. The part of a gunlock that hits the primer or firing pin or explodes the percussion cap and causes the gun to fire. b. Music One of the padded wooden pieces of a piano that strikes the strings. c. A part of an apparatus that strikes a gong or bell, as in a clock. 3. Anatomy See malleus. 4. Sports A metal ball weighing 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and having a long wire or wooden handle by which it is thrown for distance in track-and-field competition. 5. A small mallet used by auctioneers

Verb:
1. To hit, especially repeatedly, with or as if with a hammer; pound. See synonyms at beat. 2. To beat into a shape with or as if with a hammer: hammered out the dents in the fender; hammered out a contract acceptable to both sides. 3. To put together, fasten, or seal, particularly with nails, by hammering. 4. To force upon by constant repetition: hammered the information into the students' heads. 5a. To defeat soundly. b. To inflict a heavy loss or damage on. (Intransitive) 1. To deal repeated blows with or as if with a hammer; pummel: “Wind hammered at us violently in gusts” (Thor Heyerdahl). 2. To undergo beating in the manner of a hammer: My pulse hammered. 3. Informal To keep at something continuously: hammered away at the problem."

I'm slightly disappointed that the AHD doesn't have the slang terms that might get thrown around Hendrix on Wednesday nights; but I believe as far as definitions go, this one has enough.