- the programmers, systems analysts, operating staff, and other personnel working in a computer systemCompare hardware (def. 2), software
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for livewaren."people," 1966, computer-programmer jargon, from live (adj.) + ending abstracted from software, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
