An Ethernet card is a type of network adapter. These adapters support the Ethernet standard for high-speed network connections using wired connections.
Computer Basics: What is an Ethernet Card?
While wired Ethernet ports were once ubiquitous, they are gradually being replaced on computers by Wi-Fi networking capabilities. These offer speeds comparable to Ethernet, but without the expense of a bulky port or the hassle of running a cable from an Ethernet jack to a PC.
Ethernet cards belong to a category of computer hardware called network interface cards.
Ethernet cards come in several standard packages, called form factors, that have evolved over the past generations of PC hardware:
