Cookie (computing)
Etymology
From "magic cookie," an older programming term for a small token of data passed between programs, itself possibly echoing a fortune cookie’s hidden message. The web cookie was created by Netscape engineer Lou Montulli in 1994 to give the stateless web a memory. The innocuous name belies its role at the center of online tracking and privacy law.
The edible cookie is unrelated — from Dutch "koekje," little cake.
noun · /KUUK-ee/
A small file a website stores in your browser to remember you between visits.
What it names
The mechanism behind staying logged in, keeping a cart full — and being followed by ads for something you glanced at once.
Example
After he declined the tracking cookies, the site stopped following him across the web.
Related idea
A cookie set by the site you’re visiting is a "first-party" cookie doing useful work like keeping you logged in; a "third-party" cookie is planted by an advertiser to stitch your behavior together across many sites.
noun · /KUUK-ee/
A small, flat, sweet baked treat.
What it names
the food.
Example
She baked a batch of chocolate-chip cookies.
Related idea
The original meaning; the web sense borrowed the name.