| 释义 |
def·i·ni·tion
\ˌdefəˈnishən\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English diffinicioun, from Middle French diffinition, definition, from Latin definition-, definitio, from definitus (past participle of definire to determine, bring to an end, explain) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at define
1. : an act of determining or settling: as
a. Roman Catholicism : an official ecclesiastical statement concerning a matter of faith or of morals as pertaining to faith
b. : a prescribed or official standard for a commercial product
< the definition for oatmeal prescribes that the amount of nitrogen contained shall not be less than 2.24 percent — Scientific Monthly >
c. : the fixing or determination of social character
< personal status is a matter of social definition >
< society has changed its definition of women's political rights >
2. : a word or phrase expressing the essential nature of a person or thing or class of persons or of things : an answer to the question “what is x?” or “what is an x?”
3.
a. : a statement of the meaning of a word or word group
< the definitions in a dictionary >
b. : the action or process of stating the meaning of a word or word group
4.
a. in Aristotelianism : a determination of the real nature of a species by indicating both the genus that includes it and the specific differences or distinguishing marks
b. in symbolic logic
(1) : an equation between a single symbol and a combination of symbols for which it is an abbreviation (as 1 = df01 reading “1 is the successor of zero”where the special sign of equality indicates that the symbol on the left is always replaceable by the expression on the right) — see recursive definition
(2) : a statement of the meaning to be attached to some symbols of a calculus when that calculus is given some particular interpretation (as Sxy = x is the immediate successor of y) — called also correlative definition, semantic definition;; see nominal definition, persuasive definition, real definition
5.
a. : the action or the power of making definite and clear or of bringing into sharp relief
< an emotion beyond definition >
< the definition of a telescope >
b. : distinctness of outline or detail (as in a photograph) : clarity especially of musical sound in reproduction
c. : sharp demarcation of outlines or limits
< a problem of clear definition > |