the.com/penetration
The act of moving into or through something, reaching its inside rather than staying at the edge.
means The act of pushing or working your way into or through something — a barrier, a market, a body of territory, a surface — reaching the inside rather than staying at the edge.
from From Latin penetrare, 'to put or get into, to pierce,' itself likely built from penitus, 'deep within, inward,' tied to the root for 'inner chamber' (as in penates, the household gods kept at the heart of a Roman home). So the word's oldest instinct isn't violence but depth — getting to the inmost part of something. English borrowed it whole in the 1400s-1500s, first for literal piercing and reaching-inward, later stretching to markets, ideas, and defenses breached by hackers and strategists alike.
- security term
- pen testers get paid to legally break in
- market penetration
- measures how deep a product has actually sunk
- etymology
- from Latin penetrare, to place or put into
- usage
- Common in business and security writing as well as in anatomy