Etymology From bread + board. Regarding definition 3: the etymology is either that electric circuits used to be prototyped on actual bread boards (definition 1) populated with nails, or that solder breadboards have lots of holes and are usually brown (they visually resemble a slice of bread), or a merging of the two. The etymology is less obvious today given the popularity of solderless breadboards.
1
A cutting board, especially for cutting bread.
2
A pull-out cutting board underneath a counter, found in many kitchens.
One way or the other, it was always back to Mother's breadboard on Monday.1992 June 21, “The Breadboard Ornithopter”, in The New York Times:
If you are following a book like Starting Electronics, however, a breadboard is even more useful. […] Differences lie between breadboards in the spacings and the positionings of the holes, and the number of holes in each group.2011 August 2, Keith Brindley, Starting Electronics, page 18:
Etymology From bread + board. Regarding definition 3: the etymology is either that electric circuits used to be prototyped on actual bread boards (definition 1) populated with nails, or that solder breadboards have lots of holes and are usually brown (they visually resemble a slice of bread), or a merging of the two. The etymology is less obvious today given the popularity of solderless breadboards.
1
To set up (an electronic device) on a breadboard.
If the breadboarded circuit operates incorrectly or erratically, try relocating some of the components.1990, Delton T. Horn, 49 electronic 6-volt projects, page 9:
There are many commercial breadboarding systems, but almost all of them are designed to facilitate the breadboarding of digital systems, where noise immunities are hundreds of millivolts or more.1998, Jim Williams, The Art and Science of Analog Circuit Design, page 114: