EDIT:
> The term cassette is a contemporary Japanese synonym for ROM cartridge, not to be confused with the magnetic cassette tape format.
Ah, well, that's not at all confusing.
In English, the word became strongly associated with cassette tapes because it wasn't widely used before those came around, but the word itself is much older and more general.
The words referred to a box where coins where stored. It s probably still used in banks, like when ATMs are refilled.
Surprisingly for "LTO tape", french mostly uses the literal translation of "LTO tape" and sometimes "LTO cartridge" too ; the use of "cassette" is uncommon.
I just discovered it's the word for a bicycle component too.
There is the word "caissette" too, which is a box, small but not necessarily extra small as the "ette" prefix usually suggests in french though. I guess it depends of the context. ("Caisse" == "box")
There is yet another word for small boxes made of wood usually used for vegetables and fruits: "cagette".
"Casse" exists too with another meaning : it s a vehicle graveyard. (It comes from the translation of "to break" wich is the verb "casser").
It only acquired that association due to the prevalence of audio and video tapes being enclosed in cassettes from the 1970s on, and will likely lose it as time goes on.
In terms of underlying meaning, "cartridge" and "cassette" are largely interchangeable, and on the other end of this, there are situations in which "tape cartridge" has been a common construction (especially with backup tape drives that were common in the '80s and '90s). 8-track tapes have also historically been called cartridges.
I always considered "Compact Disc" to be a dumb name; but I suppose it was forgivable as a reference to the much larger LaserDisc.
"The compact disc is an evolution of LaserDisc technology, where a focused laser beam is used that enables the high information density required for high-quality digital audio signals."
I think usage of these terms became a bit calcified much more recently than we think. My first computer was a TI-99/4A, and while the term "cassette" was used regularly in its literature to refer to using audio cassettes for data storage, the ROM cartridges that commercial software came on were never called "cartridges" officially, always "solid-state software" or "command modules", with this usage extending well into the '80s.