peripheral
n. countablen. a piece of equipment that you connect to a computer to help it do more things. Examples include a mouse, a keyboard, or a printer.
n. any auxiliary hardware device that connects to and works with a computer to either input, output, or store data. Often used to distinguish external components from the central processing unit and internal memory.
I need to buy a new peripheral for my gaming setup.
The technician checked every peripheral, including the scanner and the external hard drive, to find the connection error.
Modern operating systems use plug-and-play technology to automatically detect and configure almost any peripheral, significantly reducing the manual labor once required for hardware installation.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Ancient Greek περί (perí) Ancient Greek περῐ- (perĭ-) Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti Proto-Hellenic *pʰérō Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō) Ancient Greek περιφέρω (periphérō) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek περιφερής (peripherḗs) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der. Ancient Greek -ια (-ia) Ancient Greek περιφέρεια (periphéreia)bor. Latin peripheriabor. Middle French peripheriebor. English periphery Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English peripheral From peripher(y) + -al.
Commonly used in the plural when discussing computer setups or hardware requirements.