(organizer) The word ordinateur means "organizer" in French, but it also means "computer." Considering how much a computer is used to organize time and information rather than solving mathematical problems, "organizer" might have been a less intimidating word in English.
Because the first computers in the U.S. dealt with computing missile trajectories, and computation was the entire goal at that time, "computer" was the obvious name.
Spanish: Ordenador/Computadora
In Spain, the word for computer is like the French: "ordenador." Outside of Spain, a computer is a "computadora." See
computers are copy machines.