wiki

[ wik-ee ]

noun

, plural wik·is.

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a website that allows users to add, delete, or revise content by using a web browser: Students who contribute to the class review wiki may earn extra credit points on their exams.

   The wiki has character descriptions and image galleries for every game in the franchise.

   Students who contribute to the class review wiki may earn extra credit points on their exams.

   Research and development team members should all have permission to edit the design wikis for all current projects.

2. Also called wik·i en·gine,. the software used to create a wiki.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or being a wiki:

   wiki servers.

wiki

/ ˈwɪkɪ /

noun

1. 1. a web application that allows anyone visiting a website to edit content on it
   2. ( as modifier )

      wiki technology

Word History and Origins

Origin of wiki¹

First recorded in 1990–95; shortening of WikiWikiWeb, a software program developed by Howard G. “Ward” Cunningham (born 1949), U.S. computer programmer; from Hawaiian wikiwiki “very quick,” emphatic reduplication of wiki “quick.” Cunningham coined the name WikiWikiWeb after recalling that a Honolulu International Airport counter employee advised him to take the Wiki Wiki Shuttle (a shuttle bus that runs between the terminals of the airport); his original idea was to make WikiWikiWeb's pages readily editable by its users and initially thought about calling his program QuickWeb but changed his mind and named it WikiWikiWeb

Word History and Origins

Origin of wiki¹

C20: from Hawaiian wiki-wiki quick, coined by Ward Cunningham (born 1949), US computer programmer who invented the concept

Example Sentences

We know they can “hallucinate” or make up content, such as wiki articles about the history of bears in space.

From MIT Technology Review

It’s a very broad search, so Google will try to guess the intent and offer different answers on the first page, from travel articles to institutional websites or wiki entries.

From Search Engine Land

While it is likely that much of the traffic for potential contextual links would go to reference sites like Wikipedia, it is also the case that not every niche term or topic will have a wiki page.

From Search Engine Land

In fact, I’m stealing some of the Oedilfers’ stuff right off their wiki.

From Washington Post

If someone can’t say the QAnon conspiracy theory is true on the topic’s main article, they might find ways to sprinkle its misinformation into lesser-trafficked wikis.

From Washington Post

In his version of the story, he then convinced Wales to try the wiki approach.

From The Daily Beast

I had buzzed around the wiki flower for a while, and then pollinated the free-encyclopedia flower.

From The Daily Beast

There were wiki pages where users could jointly formulate and debate the rules.

From The Daily Beast

When he asked what it meant, he was told that wiki was the Hawaiian word for quick, and wiki wiki meant superquick.

From The Daily Beast

But in this case a very non-wiki-like dispute erupted over who deserved the most credit.

From The Daily Beast

He pulled out the fuses—which the Maoris called wiki, or wicks—and emptied the precious powder into flasks.

From Project Gutenberg