Why is the Dock on a Mac named like that?

Rainbowlight wrote:

What I would like to do is asking Apple why they chose that name.

Apple didn't choose the name.

The name "Dock" predates Apple's use of it by about a decade. The Dock as we have become to know it began life as a NeXTSTEP component in the late 1980s. They were the first to actually give a name to similar ideas implemented in earlier operating systems. Apple bought that NeXT operating system in 1996 (for $400 million) and applied to have the name patented in 1999. The patent was finally granted nearly a decade after that.

At the time I thought Apple lost its mind paying such an exorbitant amount for NeXT. Which, arguably, it did. Steve Jobs played them, brilliantly.

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This screenshot from http://forums.winstep.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10657 shows the NeXT operating system identifying the Dock by name:

Competing operating systems began to copy it, including variations on the "dock" name, which led to Apple's motivation to patent it. Apple was sensitive to the fact Microsoft practically ripped off the Macintosh UI and called it their own. Ripping off others was just Microsoft's business model at the time. Having drawn that well empty, today they just rip off their own customers 😆

Rainbowlight wrote:

...I have been thinking that using that word perfectly exemplifies the behaviour of Apple's dock - it sort of "springs" or "pops up" when you run over that area with your mouse.

Only if the user chooses to automatically hide and show the Dock: Change Desktop & Dock settings on Mac - Apple Support.

A dock might be hidden in fog or in darkness, but it is still there. If you can think of a better name though, by all means suggest it: Product Feedback - Apple

Just as an FYI, we would not be able to answer a "why" question - Apple made the decision to name it and we are not allowed to speculate. As well, most places simply "adopt" the name of a computer software or hardware in its original language because, most of the time, trying to rename it is nearly impossible and you'd wind up with a different meaning.

PS - you can ask Apple, but I doubt very seriously that you'd get an answer. Apple is very tight lipped about any of their products and does not share propietary information.

"Why is the Dock on a Mac named like that?"

Why not? It had to be named something. One definition of "dock" is: "a place for loading and unloading of ..."

Seems that this name fits perfectly given this definition.

Interesting - learned something new!