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Original · left

Traffic (vehicles)

Congestion and movement of motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians traveling along urban roads.

First in use: the 1500s
Duplicate · right

Network traffic

The volumetric flow of transmitted digital data packets and visitor communications traveling across network links.

First in use: the 1970s

Traffic / Traffic (vehicles) / Network traffic

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

Rush hour vs. packets.

Which meaning of Traffic is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Traffic (vehicles) came first (the 1500s). Network traffic arrived in the 1970s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Traffic (vehicles)Network traffic
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

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The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · the 1500s

Traffic (vehicles)

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Duplicate · the 1970s

Network traffic

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More duplicated terms

Cloud & infrastructure