Comet

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The fifth reindeer of Santa Claus.
• A web application model in which a long-held HTTP request allows a web server to push data to a browser, without the browser explicitly requesting it.

Origin

• First attested in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. From comet.
• Coined by software engineer Alex Russell in March 2006. After the Comet brand of cleaning products, as a pun on Ajax, which is also both a Web programming technique and a brand of cleaning products.