'motherboard' etymology

[Jason Scott]

Stack Exchange entry which suggests it goes back to the 1950's.

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/10386/why-motherboard-is-used-to-refer-to-main-board-of-computer

On Sun, Feb 28, 2016 at 7:32 PM, Jules Richardson <
jules.richardson99 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Does anyone know the origins of the term 'motherboard'?
>
> I've always associated it with computers and assumed that it started
> appearing somewhere around 1980, with the fading out of passive backplane
> systems and arrival of machines which put more functionality onto a 'core'
> PCB into which other cards were plugged. I don't recall ever seeing it used
> when referencing earlier big iron, but maybe I've just missed it.
>
> I had the case lid off a Fluke digital multimeter which hails from 1972
> earlier, and was surprised to see it written as part of a warning there
> ("ensure that all cards are securely plugged into the motherboard before
> applying power", or similar - unfortunately I didn't grab a photo at the
> time).
>
> cheers
>
> Jules
>