On Thu, 28 Sep 2017, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
IDE used to be called "ATA" - "AT Attachment"; i.e. something tailored to the PC AT (5170) 16-bit ISA bus.
For a little while, there were also available some 8 bit IDE cards and drives! I think that Compaq may have been the first customer for the Western Digital IDE "Integrated Drive Electronics"
What I find perplexing is the acronym "SATA" for "Serial ATA". The name would imply that a drive can be connected to a 5170, but I'm not aware of any SATA adapters for the 5170 PC/AT.
It evolved, and the name persisted, in spite of no longer being applicable.