Wi-Fi is one of the most common phrases thrown around. It's an ubiquitous wireless connectivity technology available on a wide array of electronic devices. Wi-Fi is everywhere, on your TV, smartphone, laptop, smart speaker, fridge, and so much more.

However, do you really know what Wi-Fi stands for? Here's what you need to know.

What Is Wi-Fi?

Before diving into the meaning of Wi-Fi, it's vital to lay out some background knowledge about the whole topic. Wi-Fi is a wireless networking technology that enables devices to communicate. However, the term now has become synonymous with internet access.

Read More: Where Does Internet Come From?

The main essence of Wi-Fi is to facilitate communication between devices. Wi-Fi is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards that enable devices to communicate with each other. There are quite a number of Wi-Fi standards used today.

Now that you're acquainted with Wi-Fi, let's move to the main topic; what does Wi-Fi stand for?

What Does Wi-Fi Mean?

Photo of a Wi-Fi icon

Wi-Fi doesn't stand for anything. This is according to Phil Belanger, one of the founding members of the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry body that presides over Wi-Fi, in a 2005 interview with Boing Boing. So Wi-Fi is not an acronym, even though your most educated guess would've landed on Wireless Fidelity.

So you ask, how did the name Wi-Fi come to be?

Wi-Fi is simply a marketing term coined by a marketing agency, Interbrand, to help Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (now called Wi-Fi Alliance) for marketing purposes. It was also meant to help the organization push for interoperability.

Interbrand settled on Wi-Fi which was more catchy and easier to remember than "IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence".

However, the term Wireless Fidelity has its story as well. The reason why many people refer to Wi-Fi as an acronym for Wireless Fidelity has to do with what the organization did in the early days.

According to Belanger, the alliance decided to include the tagline "The Standard for Wireless Fidelity" in early marketing materials for no other reason than to provide "some sort of literal explanation," according to Belanger.

But Belanger said that tagline was a mistake. In the early 2000s, the Wi-Fi Alliance dropped that tagline.

Related: Does Your Wi-Fi Speed Drop? Here’s Why and 7 Tips to Fix It

Spread the Word

Lots of people think Wi-Fi is an acronym for something, but that isn't the case. So now that you're educated on the same, let your friends know.