The designation for the primary hard disk in a Windows PC.  The C: evolved from the early personal computers that used A: and B: for their two floppy drives.  When the hard disk came along, it naturally became the C: drive.  Letters starting with D: and up are used for additional hard disks and CD/DVD drives.
Even though floppy drives no longer come with computers, A: and B: are still reserved, and there is the occasional need for a floppy drive to read an old disk.  See 
logical drive.