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Original · left

Phaser (Star Trek)

The energy weapon carried by Starfleet officers in Star Trek.

First in use: c. 1966
Duplicate · right

Phaser (game engine)

An open-source framework for making 2D games that run in web browsers.

First in use: c. 2013

Phaser / Phaser (Star Trek) / Phaser (game engine)

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Set phasers to HTML5.

Which meaning of Phaser is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Phaser (Star Trek) came first (c. 1966). Phaser (game engine) arrived in 2013. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Phaser (Star Trek)Phaser (game engine)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

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The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · c. 1966

Phaser (Star Trek)

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Duplicate · c. 2013

Phaser (game engine)

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More duplicated terms

Gaming