Definition: The word "WIN_98" refers to Windows 98, a discontinued operating system developed by Microsoft for use with Windows platforms. It was released in January 1995 as an open-source development framework for Windows and Windows NT that used a batch processing language. In detail, the term "win98" stands for Win95/NT, which is a version of Windows created with the intention to run on various operating systems such as Windows XP. It's a forked version of the original Windows 3.x family that was released in 1990. The word 'WIN_98' is often used metaphorically in its non-technical sense, referring to Microsoft's Win95 and NT technologies, which were originally based on the original operating system. However, it can also imply a specific version of Windows, as with "Windows 98" specifically being Windows 3.x (1990). So, for instance, "WIN_98" could refer to the first version of Windows or the final release of Win95/NT that was released in 1995.