Talk:delete

RFV discussion: September–October 2016
"(computing) To hide, conceal". What does this refer to, and how is it distinct from the usual sense #1 of erasure (which also mentions computer data)? Equinox ◑ 22:14, 9 September 2016 (UTC)
 * It may refer to the practice of having the "delete" option actually move the item to the rubbish bin instead of actually deleting it from the filesystem. —CodeCat 22:19, 9 September 2016 (UTC)
 * More generally, operating systems are usually pretty sloppy with deletions. Pretty much every one I'm familiar with doesn't waste time actually deleting any data, instead erasing the name and the information about how to access the data. This is beyond the GUI; even when Windows or the Mac empties that trash bin, it still doesn't waste time getting rid of the data, leaving it there for anyone with a little computer savvy to find until the space is reused. (I didn't write the definition, but that's what I guess it's talking about.)
 * Is it a different sense? Not really. It's the equivalent of worrying about somebody throwing away something by tossing it in the trashcan; it doesn't go anywhere until someone picks it up, but it's still "away". (We do include this sense in throw away, but not as a separate sense.)--Prosfilaes (talk) 01:44, 10 September 2016 (UTC)


 * This is a useless def. Probably could've put this in RFD, but maybe I just want to vote delete. —Μετάknowledge discuss/deeds 01:48, 10 September 2016 (UTC)


 * I wonder if the intended distinction was between deleting data and deleting visual objects (e.g. an ellipse from a drawing). In any case they are both better viewed as erasure than as hiding, which is often a separate function. Equinox ◑ 10:40, 11 September 2016 (UTC)


 * RFV failed. —Μετάknowledge discuss/deeds 17:33, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

RFV discussion: September 2016
Noun: "a remainder of a music or video release" (i.e. excess stock sold off cheaply). I have heard of items being deleted from a catalogue, but not this noun. Equinox ◑ 10:38, 11 September 2016 (UTC)
 * I haven't yet found the usage in durably archived media, but consider:
 * I hear a high pitched horn and a small front end loader barrels around the corner and into the aisle I am waiting in. The shovel is full to the top with CD’s, a mish-mash of deletes and artistic creations that just couldn’t sell a million. The little vehicle rushes up to what is obviously some sort of compactor and tosses all those dreams into the mouth of the machine.
 * We started to bring in good quantities of deletes from The USA, and also started to bring in new releases,
 * There is no previous definition of delete given, ie, it is part of some group's lexicon. DCDuring TALK 12:15, 11 September 2016 (UTC)
 * I found three cites from Billboard (magazine). DCDuring TALK 12:35, 11 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Looks good. RFV - passed

"...when I hit Delete"
This quotation: "I lost the file when I accidentally hit Delete" ... has been given as an example of using delete as a noun standing for "thing deleted" (as in "Show me the list of deletes").

In my opinion the quotation about losing the file is a very good quotation, but one that definitely belongs elsewhere. It certainly isn't an example of the category it's listed under; it appears to me that it uses the verb Delete as a metonym for the keyboard key that has that function assigned to it. I don't know where to put it or how to show that. TooManyFingers (talk) 23:20, 21 May 2020 (UTC)


 * I completely agree and I challenged the numerous entries for keyboard keys and joystick buttons, but the community opted to keep some of them. Equinox ◑ 09:41, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

RFV discussion: October 2021
To kill or murder. Equinox ◑ 20:58, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * As we have erase with the same meaning, I’d be very surprised if delete isn’t sometimes used this way but it’s remarkably hard to find a use anywhere. Overlordnat1 (talk) 00:53, 3 October 2021 (UTC)


 * I got lucky by searching for "he needs to be deleted", and am sure there are plenty more too. I'm convinced I've seen this used in an action movie. Roger the Rodger (talk) 14:05, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

cited Kiwima (talk) 23:21, 5 October 2021 (UTC)


 * RFV-passed Roger the Rodger (talk) 23:58, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

Yes I've been noticing this a lot lately, and I wonder if it comes from children who grow up surrounded by computers and devices, thinking that deletion of a file is as natural an act as erasing something by hand or killing an insect. A possible bridge that might enable this  overextension is phrases like "delete my account" > "delete my character" > "delete me". Anyway, other citation I've found, should we need it, is "delete the fetus", although I cant find the specific usex I remember seeing. There's also delete the purpose, which I've always assumed was a motor-memory typo (and thus not a mistaken choice of words), but now this makes me curious if people are using delete the purpose intentionally. — Soap — 18:07, 2 April 2022 (UTC)


 * i've now seen a few people explain that this is a euphemism for death, and self-delete for suicide, because it is a word that cannot reasonably be filtered. However Im pretty sure this is *NOT* how it got started, since i've seen this on sites that have no filtering of any kind, and possibly even before filtering was even widely practiced. Plus we have a few book cites. — Soap — 22:07, 7 May 2024 (UTC)