diff

Etymology

noun

1. (slang) Clipping of difference.
   A peach and an apricot? What's the diff?
   [Pogo:] A woman outthunk is a woman scorned and you know what's got no fury like that! … Mus' I tell you? It's Sunday. [Albert:] What's the diff? Tell away. [Pogo, whispering:] Hell. March 13 1960, Walt Kelly, Pogo, Sunday, comic strip, page 277
2. (computing) Any program which compares two files or sets of files and outputs a description of the differences between them.
3. (computing) The output of a diff program, a diff file.
   I didn't want to waste people's time telling them things they already knew. It's more efficient just to give them the diffs. 2004, Paul Graham, Great Hackers, Essay
4. (automotive) Abbreviation of differential: the differential gear in an automobile.
   Many operators cursed the early diff and driveline set-ups[.] 2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 45
5. (medicine) Abbreviation of differential: differential of types of white blood cell in a complete blood count.
   Hemoccult emesis and stool, CBC with diff, PT/PTT, type and cross for PRBCs. 2006, “Gastroenterology: Esophageal Varices”, in Steven E. Diaz, The Little Black Book of Emergency Medicine (Jones and Bartlett's Little Black Book Series), 2nd edition, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, page 103
6. (climbing) A difficult route.

verb

1. (transitive, computing) To run a diff program on (files or items) so as to produce a description of the differences between them, as for a patch file.
   As we move through this chapter, you will quickly see the benefits of diffing code changes to drivers, libraries, and applications. 2011, Gray Hat Hacking : The Ethical Hacker's Handbook, 3rd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, →OCLC, page 484
2. (transitive, computing) To compare two files or other objects, manually or otherwise.

adj

1. Abbreviation of different.
   I don't think it's any diff then in grade school when someone said "come on take a drag it will make you look cool" Aug 15 2000, ZedMan2K, “Anti-Leiberman Backlash Already”, in alt.religion.christian.baptist (Usenet)
   Is there a way to tell it to pick a diff one by default? 25 Aug 2006, jes.t.er, “Character names”, in alt.games.warcraft (Usenet)