16 January 2024 , 11:21
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When searching for an answer to a burning question, many people say they'll ' Google it' to see what comes up. Often, they end up reading the information box at the top of Google's search page, with this commonly linking them to a Wikipedia page on the subject.
Since January 15, 2001, Wikipedia has been providing internet users with the answers to almost everything, thanks to its user-generated content. A Wikipedia statement reads: "Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and millions already have.
"Written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers, known as Wikipedians, Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone and anywhere with Internet access (and who is not presently blocked), except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism."
With this in mind, some users have been questioning how the webpage got its name, with one Reddit user asking: "What does the prefix 'wiki' mean or where does it come from? We have Wikileaks, Wikipedia, subreddits and TV shows, etc have their own 'wiki'. Are they connected?"
According to Wikipedia, the name originated from a blend of the words wiki and encyclopedia, with wiki meaning 'quick' in Hawaiian. It appears the 'wiki' part of its name lives up to its promise, as users usually track down the information they're searching for within a few clicks, despite the website having more than 62million articles in more than 300 languages.
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A statement on Wikipedia reads: "The online encyclopedia project Wikipedia is the most popular wiki-based website, and is one of the most widely viewed sites in the world, having been ranked in the top twenty since 2007. Wikipedia is not a single wiki but rather a collection of hundreds of wikis, with each one pertaining to a specific language.
"The English-language Wikipedia has the largest collection of articles: as of January 2024, it has over six million articles. " Commenting on this, one Reddit user said: "It all started with WardsWiki. Wikipedia didn't come along until 2001. WardsWiki was started in 1995, a full six years earlier.
The software that Wikipedia runs on now, MediaWiki, was made in 2003. Before that, it used UseModWiki. There were also PHPWiki and others before MediaWiki came along. Most well-known" does not mean 'first.' In fact, it almost never does. Another added: "Wiki has become a catch-all for any kind of online database. As mentioned by another user, it means 'fast' in Hawaiian.
"I would assume the original etymology of the word "Wikipedia" was intended to be a play on words that more or less meant 'fast encyclopedia'. Over time, 'wiki' has grown to mean any online database- usually one written by many people collectively.
"As for why other sites use the prefix or suffix is anybody's guess, but I think it's just because Wikipedia is so popular and has such a unique and recognizable format." A third user said: "Wikipedia did not coin the term, only popularized it. A blog, short for weblog, is an online article written by a single author. A wiki is an article written and edited by many authors."