crontab

C3R1O1N1T1A1B3

noun

A table of commands to be executed periodically.

OriginAncient Greek χρόνος →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nouncrontab (plural crontabs)

plural crontabs

  1. UnixcomputingA table of commands to be executed periodically.

    The purpose of /etc/crontab is different from that of individual users' crontabs. With /etc/crontab, root may specify which user will run a particular command.

    2008, Michael Lucas, Absolute FreeBSD: The Complete Guide to FreeBSD

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekχρόνος“time”
  2. Englishcrontab

Shortening of cron table, where cron is the name of the system program that handles these tasks, from Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos, “time”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

crontab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crontab

MLA

“crontab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crontab. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crontab,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crontab.

Source: crontab on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.