Sir,

The modern use of the term "bug" has been around for more than 100 years (letters, May 26 and June 1).

In Hawkin's New Catechism of Electricity (Theo. Audel & Co, 1896) the following definition appears:

"The term 'bug' is used to a limited extent to designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus."

It has been suggested that the word originated in a popular belief that interference in telephone calls was caused by bugs in the cables.

Yours faithfully,
SIMON MONTAGU,
Maalot Elram 523/2
Jerusalem 93785, Israel.
June 2.

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The Times (London), letters to the editor, 1999-06-12