password

[pas-wurd, pahs-] /ˈpæsˌwɜrd, ˈpɑs-/
noun
1.
a secret word or expression used by authorized persons to prove their right to access, information, etc.
2.
a word or other string of characters, sometimes kept secret or confidential, that must be supplied by a user in order to gain full or partial access to a multiuser computer system or its data resources.
Compare countersign.
Origin
1810-20; pass + word
Synonyms
1. watchword.
British Dictionary definitions for password

password

/ˈpɑːsˌwɜːd/
noun
1.
a secret word, phrase, etc, that ensures admission or acceptance by proving identity, membership, etc
2.
an action, quality, etc, that gains admission or acceptance
3.
a sequence of characters used to gain access to a computer system
Word Origin and History for password
n.

"word appointed as a sign to distinguish friend from foe," 1798, from pass (v.) + word (n.).

password in Technology
security
An arbitrary string of characters chosen by a user or system administrator and used to authenticate the user when he attempts to log on, in order to prevent unauthorised access to his account.
A favourite activity among unimaginative computer nerds and crackers is writing programs which attempt to discover passwords by using lists of commonly chosen passwords such as people's names (spelled forward or backward). It is recommended that to defeat such methods passwords use a mixture of upper and lower case letters or digits and avoid proper names and real words. If you have trouble remembering random strings of characters, make up an acronym like "ihGr8trmP" ("I have great trouble remembering my password").
(1994-10-27)