Definition, synonyms and related words
A high-speed digital link standard covered by the IEEE 1394-1995 standard.
"The photographer connected her new camera to the computer using a firewire cable to transfer images at lightning speed."
In plain English: FireWire is an older type of cable used to connect computers and devices so they can transfer files quickly.
"I used my FireWire cable to transfer large video files directly from my camera to the computer."
Usage: FireWire is an obsolete connection standard that was once used to transfer data between computers and peripherals at high speeds, but it has largely been replaced by USB-C in modern devices. You will mostly encounter this term when troubleshooting older Macs or discussing the history of digital connectivity standards.
Firewire is a compound of "fire" and "wire," coined as the capitalized trade name FireWire by Apple when developing its high-speed digital link standard in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The term entered common usage to describe this specific technology rather than referring to literal burning or electrical cables.