minicomputern.
/ˈmɪnɪkəmˌpjuːtə/, U.S. /ˈmɪnikəmˌpjudər/ Computing.
Any relatively small computer; spec. one intermediate in size, power, price, etc., between a microcomputer and a mainframe.The distinction between this, a microcomputer, and a mainframe has shifted as computers in general have become more powerful.
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1967 Datamation Jan. 85/1 Mini-computer. An overcoat-pocket-sized aerospace computer, the 449 has an integral entry keyboard, display, and batteries.
1975 Nature 16 Oct. 558/2 Broadly speaking, a minicomputer costs between £1,500 and £50,000, at which price it turns imperceptibly into a ‘midi’.
1980 B. A. Artwick Microcomputer Interfacing 3 A minicomputer is a small computer with the central processing unit built from small- or medium-scale integrated circuits..or from discrete parts. Included as part of a minicomputer are the associated memory and interface modules.
1990 M. M. Mirabito & B. L. Morgenstern New Communications Technol. iii. 49/2 In addition to LANs, a multiuser system also can link separate computer stations. A typical configuration comprises a mainframe, a minicomputer, or a powerful PC called a supermicro, and a number of terminals.
1998 Jrnl. Amer. Soc. Information Sci. 49 883/2 The computer-based information retrieval service..was designed using an HP 3000/58 minicomputer.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1967