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This article gives a short history of the word "computer" beginning from its use in early Roman times up to the introduction of the digital computer. In many dictionaries, the etymology of computer is not typically given because the entry for this word follows that of the verb compute, for which the derivation normally given is computare, a word that can be broken down into com, the Latin for "together" and putare, the Latin for "to reckon" or "to settle." Although this is generally correct, the Latin word cornputus may well have been the one giving rise to the word computer as used in the modern sense, because this word was in widespread use in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Indeed, the word computus may have been used for the first time in the third century AD, initially taking the same varied meaning as computation, for example referring to arithmetic or economic "estimation." In the first few decades of the past century, the demand for more human computers continued to rise. During World War I, for example, many computers were employed on both sides of the war to perform tasks related to ballistics, surveying, navigation, and cartography. Also, because most of the men went to war, this period marked an increase in women computers.