unbuffered
|un-buf-fered|
🇺🇸
/ʌnˈbʌfərd/
🇬🇧
/ʌnˈbʌfəd/
(unbuffer)
not having a buffer
Etymology
'unbuffered' originates from English, formed from the prefix 'un-' (Old English 'un-' meaning 'not') + 'buffer' + the adjectival/past participle suffix '-ed'.
'buffer' in English developed from Middle English 'bouffre/buffer' (influenced by Old French words such as 'buffet' meaning a blow or puff), and the modern verb/adjective senses (to cushion, to store temporarily) led to formations like 'buffered' and then 'unbuffered' by adding the negative prefix 'un-'.
The components originally conveyed 'not' + 'buffer' (where 'buffer' acquired the sense of a cushion or temporary storage); over time the combined 'unbuffered' came to mean 'not provided with a buffer' in technical senses such as chemistry and computing.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle form of 'unbuffer' (to remove a buffer or to disable buffering).
They unbuffered the stream to ensure data was sent immediately.
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Adjective 1
not protected, stabilized, or moderated by a buffer; lacking a buffer. (Often used in chemistry to describe a solution without buffering capacity.)
The sample was unbuffered, so its pH changed rapidly when acid was added.
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Adjective 2
in computing, describing I/O or operations that occur without intermediate buffering; data is processed or written immediately rather than being held in a buffer.
Unbuffered output can slow down the program because each write operation goes directly to the device.
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Last updated: 2025/09/05 05:56