Baud

a unit used to measure the speed of signaling or data transfer, equal to the number of pulses or bits per second:
baud rate.
Historical Examples

I am sure I am no to baud out for ever against this sort of going on; but when folk’s missed, then they are moaned.’
Guy Mannering, or The Astrologer, Complete, Illustrated Sir Walter Scott

I didna gae slapdash to them wi’ our young bra’ bridegroom, to gar them baud up the market.
Waverley, Or ‘Tis Sixty Years Hence, Complete Sir Walter Scott

She dwells in the wilds of the baud State and is supposed to fulfil all the desires of the Sudhs.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India – Volume IV of IV R.V. Russell

They had been ambushed scarce four hours from Quebec by a baud of marauding Oneidas.
The Grey Cloak Harold MacGrath

“baud mens, sahib,” said Tippoo, clutching his forehead with one hand and bowing forward.
Motor Matt’s Clue Stanley R. Matthews

Besides, the confession may be but fair, to baud the blame frae bein laid at the door o’ some innocent man!
Salted With Fire George MacDonald

noun
a unit used to measure the speed of electronic code transmissions, equal to one unit interval per second
n.

1932, originally a unit of speed in telegraphy, coined in French in 1929 in honor of French inventor and engineer Jean-Maurice-Émile Baudot (1845-1903), who designed a telegraph printing system.
communications, unit
/bawd/ (plural “baud”) The unit in which the information carrying capacity or “signalling rate” of a communication channel is measured. One baud is one symbol (state-transition or level-transition) per second. This coincides with bits per second only for two-level modulation with no framing or stop bits.
A symbol is a unique state of the communication channel, distinguishable by the receiver from all other possible states. For example, it may be one of two voltage levels on a wire for a direct digital connection or it might be the phase or frequency of a carrier.
The term “baud” was originally a unit of telegraph signalling speed, set at one Morse code dot per second. Or, more generally, the reciprocal of the duration of the shortest signalling element. It was proposed at the International Telegraph Conference of 1927, and named after J.M.E. Baudot (1845-1903), the French engineer who constructed the first successful teleprinter.
The UK PSTN will support a maximum rate of 600 baud but each baud may carry between 1 and 16 bits depending on the coding (e.g. QAM).
Where data is transmitted as packets, e.g. characters, the actual “data rate” of a channel is
R D / P
where R is the “raw” rate in bits per second, D is the number of data bits in a packet and P is the total number of bits in a packet (including packet overhead).
The term “baud” causes much confusion and is usually best avoided. Use “bits per second” (bps), “bytes per second” or “characters per second” (cps) if that’s what you mean.
(1998-02-14)