Wi-Fi

See also: WiFi, wi-fi, and wifi

English
Wi-Fi logo

Alternative forms

Etymology

Coined in analogy to Hi-Fi as a trade name developed for the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (later Wi-Fi Alliance).[1][2]

Often analyzed as a shortened form of wireless fidelity (similar to how hi-fi is short for high fidelity); this is possibly due to the former slogan of the aforementioned Wi-Fi Alliance, The Standard for Wireless Fidelity.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈwaɪ.faɪ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪfaɪ

Noun

Wi-Fi (countable and uncountable, plural Wi-Fis)

  1. (networking, uncountable) Any of several standards for short-range wireless data transmission (IEEE 802.11).
    Coordinate terms: Bluetooth, GPRS, IrDA, wireless internet, WISP, WLAN
  2. (networking, uncountable) Wireless networking using one of these standards.
    Mimi gave Fifi access to her Wi-Fi.
    This coffee shop has Wi-Fi for its customers.
  3. (informal, uncountable) The capability to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
    The refrigerator cost 1000 more dollars just because it had Wi-Fi, and I'm thinking "this is ridiculous"!
  4. (countable) A Wi-Fi network.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Wi-Fi (third-person singular simple present Wi-Fis, present participle Wi-Fi-ing, simple past and past participle Wi-Fied)

  1. To equip with Wi-Fi; to Wi-Fi enable.
    • 2003 September 15, Scott Bradner, “So why isn't it wireless?,”, in Network World, volume 20, number 37:
      What type of electronics will be immune from being Wi-Fied?
    • 2003, Business Week - Issues 3827-3830:
      The biggest market may be Wi-Fi-ing people's homes.
    • 2004, Jon Edney, William A. Arbaugh, William Arbaugh, Real 802.11 Security: Wi-Fi Protected Access and 802.11i, page XVI:
      To Wi-Fi or Not to Wi-Fi?
    • 2017, Dean Koontz, The Silent Corner, page 10:
      There was no point in being off the grid if the vehicle you drove was Wi-Fied to it with every turn of the wheels.
  2. To connect to the internet using Wi-Fi.
    • 2003, Newsweek - Volume 142, Issues 18-25, page 76:
      The hotel manager even claims he's seen Red Sox problem child Manny Ramirez Wi-Fi-ing in the lobby on his Palm.
    • 2004, Harold Davis, Absolute Beginner's Guide to Wi-Fi Wireless Networking, page 237:
      Perhaps someone sees you typing in confidential information while you are "Wi-Fi-ing" in a hotel lobby or a crowded airport waiting area.
    • 2004, Vanity Fair - Issue 524, page 146:
      If Addison and Steele were alive and holding court at Starbucks, they'd be Wi-Fi-ing into a joint blog.

See also
  • AirPort
  • HomeIR
  • HomeRF
  • PAN

References
  1. Janice Reynolds (2003) Going Wi-Fi: Networks Untethered with 802.11 Wireless Technology, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 3: ““Wi-Fi” is a play on the old audio term “Hi-Fi” (high fidelity). The term also has been trademarked by the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance).”
  2. Barrie Sosinsky (2009) Networking Bible, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 356: “Wi-Fi was created by the Interbrand Corporation in 1999 to replace the name IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence, and it remains a brand name with no real relationship to the technology it describes.”

Further reading

Japanese
Alternative spelling
WiFi

Etymology

Borrowed from English Wi-Fi.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ɰᵝa̠iɸa̠i]

Noun

Wi-Fi(ワイファイ) • (wai-fai) 

  1. (networking) Wi-Fi

Portuguese

Noun

Wi-Fi m or f (usually uncountable, plural Wi-Fis)

  1. Alternative spelling of wi-fi
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