A dot address (sometimes known as a dotted quad address) refers to the notation that expresses the four-byte (32-bit) IP address as a sequence of four decimal numbers separated by dots. Each number represents the binary value of one of four bytes. Look at this Internet address, for example: 205.245.172.72.
In 1974, after many failed attempts, a paper published by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, also known as âthe fathers of the Internet,â resulted in the protocol TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), which by 1978 would become TCP/IP (with the IP standing for Internet Protocol).
The origin of the word internet is inter-networking says Bob Kahn at 59.35 in the linked video interview below, published on YouTube on 5 Nov 2014. Kahn, along with Vint Cert, is the co-inventor of TCP/IP, the fundamental communication protocols at the heart of the Internet.