English word origin

Etymology of 404

From the HTTP error status code 404, meaning Not Found, returned by a web server responding to a request for a URL at which no resource exists.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

An error indicating that a web page could not be found. · Dog meat.

adj

Not found, especially of a web page on the Internet.

verb

To return an error indicating that a web page could not be found.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the HTTP error status code 404, meaning Not Found, returned by a web server responding to a request for a URL at which no resource exists.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "HTTP",
      "HTTP"
    ],
    [
      "URL",
      "URL"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An error indicating that a web page could not be found.",
        "Dog meat."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Nigeria",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "6b5b094c5fa8e80e0e98069633b22275b401f792f9bb294399f8c0745f113d60",
      "rawRecordSha256": "dddcd3eb988e786e9e4e7a63a29a11687a0b5237b6b997efbcd80b07bcc0825a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 386422
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Not found, especially of a web page on the Internet."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "927040649db14761c5340e675ce8b6db8693cdb0355b1338cb9b39da3658258c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "27d6aa0ba3a478346e0eb82f8325524c8f7ac7f98cac2ca29711440390421741",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 386421
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To return an error indicating that a web page could not be found."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b6fffe3ae36548e6ceb08d46334abbee0fa83479defbbac0c38208dfdd11fa63",
      "rawRecordSha256": "185677bca6c898646d37d13bfc3d518051544e04cf350044eb4dc611f1b1762b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 386423
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for 404 →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-NDA0