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Original · left

Snapshot (photo)

An informal photograph taken quickly, often with a handheld camera.

First in use: the 1800s
Duplicate · right

Snapshot (storage)

A point-in-time copy of a disk, volume, database or virtual machine.

First in use: the 1990s

Snapshot / Snapshot (photo) / Snapshot (storage)

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

Holiday photos vs. point-in-time backups.

Which meaning of Snapshot is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Snapshot (photo) came first (the 1800s). Snapshot (storage) arrived in the 1990s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Snapshot (photo)Snapshot (storage)
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 · the 1800s

Snapshot (photo)

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Duplicate · the 1990s

Snapshot (storage)

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More duplicated terms

Data & databases