Kludge
WordNet
noun
(1) A badly assembled collection of parts hastily assembled to serve some particular purpose (often used to refer to computing systems or software that has been badly put together)
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Perhaps from British military slang, possibly based on Scots word or or from the German ; possibly related to Polish and Russian
There is evidence that was once a separate word with similar meaning but separate derivation, but the spelling was widely popularized in the U.S. by a 1962 Datamation article, “How to Design a Kludge”.
Noun
- an improvised device, usually crudely constructed. Typically used to test the validity of a principle before doing a finished design.
- any construction or practice, typically inelegant, designed to solve a problem temporarily or expediently.
- an amalgamated mass of totally unrelated parts forming a distressing whole [from the Datamation article mentioned in the Usage Note below].