Dictionary

COBOL en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈkoʊbɒl/
• /-bɔːl/

Etymology

Acronym of common business-oriented language, perhaps coined by American computer scientist and aerospace engineer Bob Bemer.

Meanings

1. A programming language developed in the late 1950s, especially for business applications.
   • The problem in COBOL is that, while there exists a standard COBOL, ANS (American National Standard) COBOL, no computer manufacturer offers a COBOL compiler that is both full and pure ANS. 1973, Russell M. Armstrong, Modular Programming in COBOL, Wiley-Interscience:
   • American institutions are in many ways still adapting to the internet—the IRS still processes tax returns using COBOL, a programming language that was released in 1960. 2026 April 3, Matteo Wong, Lila Shroff, “Silicon Valley Is in a Frenzy Over Bots That Build Themselves”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
   • Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the Convention du Mètre. 2025 February 17, David Gilbert, “No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2025:

Forms

Deriveds

COBOLer

Translations (3)

eo COBOL (programming language) · mr कोबोल (programming language) · eo Kobolo (programming language)