From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
flip-flop
n 1: a decision to reverse an earlier decision [syn: reversal,
change of mind, turnabout, turnaround]
2: a backless sandal held to the foot by a thong between the
big toe and the second toe
3: an electronic circuit that can assume either of two stable
states
4: a backward somersault
v : reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) [syn:
interchange, tack, switch, alternate, flip]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
flip-flop
<hardware> A digital logic circuit that can be in one of two
states which it switches (or "toggles") between under
control of its inputs. It can thus be considered as a one bit
memory. Three types of flip-flop are common: the {SR
flip-flop}, the JK flip-flop and the D-type flip-flop (or
latch).
Early literature refers to the "Eccles-Jordan circuit" and the
"Eccles-Jordan binary counter", using two vacuum tubes as
the active (amplifying) elements for each bit of information
storage. Later implementations using bipolar transistors
could operate at up to 20 million state transitions per second
as early as 1963.
(1995-11-11)