baud
UK[bɔːd]US[bɔːd]
n
A unit of measurement for the speed of data transmission, equal to one signal event per second.
Etymology
The term 'baud' is an eponym, derived from the surname of French telegraph engineer Jean-Maurice-Émile Baudot. Baudot invented a pioneering telegraph code in the 1870s. The word was adopted into English in the early 20th century to honor his contribution to communications technology. It specifically entered technical vocabulary as a unit measuring the signaling rate, directly linking his legacy to the fundamental metric of data transmission speed.
Analysis
This word is a loanword adopted as a single, unsegmentable unit into English.
Examples
The old modem operated at a speed of 2400 baud.
Baud rate is a key specification for serial communication devices.
Higher baud rates allow for faster data transfer over a communication channel.