Definition: bandwidth
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
bandwidth
n : a data transmission rate; the maximum amount of information
(bits/second) that can be transmitted along a channel
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
bandwidth <communications> The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission channel (the width of its allocated band of frequencies). The term is often used erroneously to mean data rate or capacity - the amount of data that is, or can be, sent through a given communications circuit per second. [How is data capacity related to bandwidth?] [Jargon File] (2001-04-24)
Source: Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
bandwidth n. 1. [common] Used by hackers (in a generalization of its technical meaning) as the volume of information per unit time that a computer, person, or transmission medium can handle. "Those are amazing graphics, but I missed some of the detail -- not enough bandwidth, I guess." Compare low-bandwidth; see also brainwidth. This generalized usage began to go mainstream after the Internet population explosion of 1993-1994. 2. Attention span. 3. On Usenet, a measure of network capacity that is often wasted by people complaining about how items posted by others are a waste of bandwidth.
