accumulator

n. obs. 1. Archaic term for a register. On-line use of it as a synonym for
register is a fairly reliable indication that the user has been around for
quite a while and/or that the architecture under discussion is quite old.
The term in full is almost never used of microprocessor registers, for
example, though symbolic names for arithmetic registers beginning in A
derive from historical use of the term accumulator (and not, actually, from
arithmetic ). Confusingly, though, an A register name prefix may also stand
for address , as for example on the Motorola 680x0 family. 2. A register
being used for arithmetic or logic (as opposed to addressing or a loop
index), especially one being used to accumulate a sum or count of many
items. This use is in context of a particular routine or stretch of code.
The FOOBAZ routine uses A3 as an accumulator. 3. One's in-basket (esp. among
old-timers who might use sense 1). You want this reviewed? Sure, just put it
in the accumulator. (See stack.

