Etymology

chiptune

C3H4I1P3T1U1N1E1

Today it means: A piece of computer music in which the sounds are generated and mixed in realtime, common before the advent of mass storage for prerecorded sound. Full definition →

English tune ← Middle English chippe ← Old English ċipp
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic*kippōną
  2. Proto-West Germanic*kippōn
  3. Old English*ċippian
  4. Old Englishċipp
  5. Middle Englishchippe
  6. Englishchip
  7. Englishtune
  8. English todaychiptune

From chip + tune, referring to a computer's sound chip; see chip (“electronic circuit”). Initially in the meaning of modules, as an antonym to 'real' chip music, then generalized/recontextualized.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.