# Etymology of "ping"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-ping/652161>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 6, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-ping/652161 "2013-03-06T06:00:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-ping/652161/81 "2013-03-08T17:08:59Z")

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> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> I remember when 24/7 was used only in comp engineering(I think, I don’t know it’s etymology) and then it became keen and neato for business types to say.

24/7 as in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I remember it since I was a kid ('70s), as in “[some store] is open 24/7.” Since it was understood by everyone, it must have been common even longer than I would remember. Certainly not a technology origin, unless you count the technology of “keeping time”.

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