Meanings
plural syscalls
- computingA software request for a service from the operating system kernel.
At an assembly code level, when a process wants to make a syscall, it will load the syscall number into the EAX register[…]
2009, Jatinder N. D. Gupta, Sushil K. Sharma, Handbook of research on information security and assurance1 more example
In addition, the relatively slow scalar CPU of the SX-9 and high cost of context switches (interrupts, syscalls) due to the huge context that needs to be stored away (like vector registers) contribute their part to the very poor UDP performance.
2010, Michael Resch, Katharina Benkert, Xin Wang, High Performance Computing on Vector Systems 2010, page 57
Origin
Clipped compound of system call.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
syscall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syscall
“syscall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syscall. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “syscall,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syscall.
Source: syscall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.