Jiffy
from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
jiffy
n.
1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on your computer (see
{tick}). Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the U.S. and Canada,
1/50 most other places), but more recently 1/100 sec has become
common. "The swapper runs every 6 jiffies" means that the virtual
memory management routine is executed once for every 6 ticks of the
clock, or about ten times a second.
2. Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond
{wall time} interval.
3. Even more confusingly, physicists semi-jokingly use `jiffy' to mean
the time required for light to travel one foot in a vacuum, which
turns out to be close to one nanosecond. Other physicists use the term
for the quantum-nechanical lower bound on meaningful time lengths,
4. Indeterminate time from a few seconds to forever. "I'll do it in a
jiffy" means certainly not now and possibly never. This is a bit
contrary to the more widespread use of the word. Oppose {nano}. See
also {Real Soon Now}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
jiffy
1. The duration of one {tick} of the computer's {system
clock}. Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the US and
Canada, 1/50 most other places), but more recently 1/100 sec
has become common.
2. Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a
1-millisecond {wall time} interval. Even more confusingly,
physicists semi-jokingly use "jiffy" to mean the time required
for light to travel one foot in a vacuum, which turns out to
be close to one *nanosecond*.
[{Jargon File}]
(2002-03-02)
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
28 Moby Thesaurus words for "jiffy":
breath, breathing, coup, crack, flash, half a jiffy, half a mo,
half a second, half a shake, instant, jiff, microsecond,
millisecond, minute, moment, sec, second, shake, split second,
stroke, tick, trice, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes,
wink
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