Source : WordNet®

ethernet
     n : a type of networking technology for local area networks;
         coaxial cable carries radio frequency signals between
         computers at a rate of 10 megabits per second

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Ethernet
     
         A {local area network} first described by
        Metcalfe & Boggs of {Xerox PARC} in 1976.  Specified by {DEC},
        {Intel} and {XEROX} (DIX) as {IEEE 802.3} and now recognised
        as the industry standard.
     
        Data is broken into {packets} and each one is transmitted
        using the {CSMA/CD} {algorithm} until it arrives at the
        destination without colliding with any other packet.  The
        first {contention slot} after a transmission is reserved for
        an {acknowledge} packet.  A {node} is either transmitting or
        receiving at any instant.  The {bandwidth} is about 10 Mbit/s.
        Disk-Ethernet-Disk transfer rate with {TCP/IP} is typically 30
        kilobyte per second.
     
        Version 2 specifies that {collision} detect of the transceiver
        must be activated during the {inter-packet gap} and that when
        transmission finishes, the differential transmit lines are
        driven to 0V (half step).  It also specifies some {network
        management} functions such as reporting {collisions}, retries
        and {deferrals}.
     
        Ethernet cables are classified as "XbaseY", e.g. 10base5,
        where X is the data rate in {Mbps}, "base" means "{baseband}"
        (as opposed to {radio frequency}) and Y is the category of
        cabling.  The original cable was {10base5} ("full spec"),
        others are {10base2} ("thinnet") and {10baseT} ("twisted
        pair") which is now (1998) very common.  {100baseT} ("{Fast
        Ethernet}") is also increasingly common.
     
        {Usenet} newsgroup: {news:comp.dcom.lans.ethernet}.
     
        {(http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/ethernet/ethernet-home.html)}.
     
        (1997-04-16)