The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

QWERTY
 /kwer'tee/, adj.

    [from the keycaps at the upper left] Pertaining to a standard
    English-language typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes keyboard
    after its inventor), as opposed to Dvorak or non-US-ASCII layouts or a 
    space-cadet keyboard or APL keyboard.

    Historical note: The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a fossil. It is
    sometimes said that it was designed to slow down the typist, but this is
    wrong; it was designed to allow faster typing ? under a constraint now long
    obsolete. In early typewriters, fast typing using nearby type-bars jammed
    the mechanism. So Sholes fiddled the layout to separate the letters of many
    common digraphs (he did a far from perfect job, though; ?th?, ?tr?, ?ed?,
    and ?er?, for example, each use two nearby keys). Also, putting the letters
    of ?typewriter? on one line allowed it to be typed with particular speed
    and accuracy for demos. The jamming problem was essentially solved soon
    afterward by a suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives on.

    The QWERTY keyboard has also spawned some unhelpful economic myths about
    how technical standards get and stay established; see http://
    www.reasonmag.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html.

    R


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

QWERTY
AZERTY

    /kwer'tee/ (From the top left row of letter keys of
   most keyboards) Pertaining to a standard English-language
   typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes keyboard
   after its inventor), as opposed to Dvorak or
   foreign-language layouts (e.g. "keyboard AZERTY" in
   french-speaking countries) or a space-cadet keyboard or APL
   keyboard.

   The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a fossil.  It is
   sometimes said that it was designed to slow down the typist,
   but this is wrong; it was designed to allow *faster* typing -
   under a constraint now long obsolete.  In early typewriters,
   fast typing using nearby type-bars jammed the mechanism.  So
   Sholes fiddled the layout to separate the letters of many
   common digraphs (he did a far from perfect job, though; "th",
   "tr", "ed", and "er", for example, each use two nearby keys).
   Also, putting the letters of "typewriter" on one line allowed
   it to be typed with particular speed and accuracy for demos.
   The jamming problem was essentially solved soon afterward by a
   suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives on.

   [Jargon File]

   (1998-01-15)