drag-and-drop
UK[ˌdræɡ ən ˈdrɒp]US[ˌdræɡ ən ˈdrɑːp]
adj
Relating to or being a feature in a graphical user interface that allows a user to move items on the screen by selecting them and moving the mouse while holding down a button.
n
A feature or action in a graphical user interface that involves moving an item on the screen in this way.
Etymology
The term 'drag-and-drop' is a modern compound originating in the late 20th century from the vocabulary of computing. It is formed by combining two basic physical action verbs, 'drag' and 'drop', which have Old English origins ('dragan' meaning to draw or pull, and 'droppian' meaning to fall in drops or let fall). The compound logically and vividly describes the core user interaction: first, dragging (moving while holding) a graphical object, and then dropping (releasing) it at a target location. This transparent, action-based terminology was created to make the abstract digital operation intuitively understandable by mapping it directly onto familiar physical metaphors.
Analysis
This is a fixed compound verb phrase lexicalized as a single concept. It is not productively segmented into smaller, independent morphemes for analysis within the target word's specific computational meaning.
Examples
The software uses a simple drag-and-drop interface for organizing files.
To install the application, just perform a drag-and-drop of the icon into the applications folder.
This feature supports drag-and-drop editing of text and images.