chiclet keyboard

English

A calculator's rubber chiclet keyboard

Etymology

From Chiclets (itself from chicle), a brand of chewing gum bearing some resemblance to the keys.

Noun

chiclet keyboard (plural chiclet keyboards)

1. (computing, informal) Any of various early computer keyboards having an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys.
   • 1984 February, Popular Mechanics, volume 161, number 2:

     At the best of times it's difficult to type on a chiclet keyboard.

   • 1985, Linda Gail Christie, The Simon and Schuster guide to computer peripherals:

     The chiclet keyboard and single-line LED display do not permit rapid data entry and text editing...

   • 2002, Paul B Thurrott, Windows XP home networking:

     […] clamshell-like devices with a tiny chiclet keyboard, a stylus for selecting and pointing, and a black-and-white Windows 95-like user interface.