a HackerNoon project
Original · left

Node (botany or lymph)

A botanical point on a plant stem where leaves sprout, or an enlarged lymphatic gland.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Node (networking)

An active computational device connected to a network, or an address point in a linked data structure.

First in use: the 1960s

Node / Node (botany or lymph) / Node (networking)

Loading data…
Canonical todayMeasuring…
Status—
Duplicate share · 12 mo—
Last crossover—
Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Lymph nodes vs. network nodes.

Which meaning of Node is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Node (botany or lymph) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Node (networking) arrived in the 1960s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Node (botany or lymph)Node (networking)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Node (botany or lymph)

Loading the Wikipedia definition…

12-mo pageviews—
Year over year—
Peak month—
Duplicate · the 1960s

Node (networking)

Loading the Wikipedia definition…

12-mo pageviews—
Year over year—
Peak month—

More duplicated terms

Cloud & infrastructure