C

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

c
    adj 1: being ten more than ninety [syn: {hundred}, {one
           hundred}, {100}, {c}]
    n 1: a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature [syn:
         {degree centigrade}, {degree Celsius}, {C}]
    2: the speed at which light travels in a vacuum; the constancy
       and universality of the speed of light is recognized by
       defining it to be exactly 299,792,458 meters per second [syn:
       {speed of light}, {light speed}, {c}]
    3: a vitamin found in fresh fruits (especially citrus fruits)
       and vegetables; prevents scurvy [syn: {vitamin C}, {C},
       {ascorbic acid}]
    4: one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four
       nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar
       (ribose) [syn: {deoxycytidine monophosphate}, {C}]
    5: a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine;
       pairs with guanine [syn: {cytosine}, {C}]
    6: an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in
       three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and
       diamond; occurs in all organic compounds [syn: {carbon}, {C},
       {atomic number 6}]
    7: ten 10s [syn: {hundred}, {100}, {C}, {century}, {one C}]
    8: a unit of electrical charge equal to the amount of charge
       transferred by a current of 1 ampere in 1 second [syn:
       {coulomb}, {C}, {ampere-second}]
    9: a general-purpose programing language closely associated with
       the UNIX operating system
    10: (music) the keynote of the scale of C major
    11: the 3rd letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: {C}, {c}]
    12: street names for cocaine [syn: {coke}, {blow}, {nose candy},
        {snow}, {C}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Gastropoda \Gas*trop"o*da\, n. pl., [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, stomach
   + -poda.] (Zool.)
   One of the classes of Mollusca, of great extent. It includes
   most of the marine spiral shells, and the land and
   fresh-water snails. They generally creep by means of a flat,
   muscular disk, or foot, on the ventral side of the body. The
   head usually bears one or two pairs of tentacles. See
   {Mollusca}. [Written also {Gasteropoda}.]
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The Gastropoda are divided into three subclasses; viz.:
         ({a}) The Streptoneura or Dioecia, including the
         Pectinibranchiata, Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, and
         Heteropoda. ({b}) The Euthyneura, including the
         Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia. ({c}) The Amphineura,
         including the Polyplacophora and Aplacophora.
         [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Language \Lan"guage\, n. [OE. langage, F. langage, fr. L. lingua
   the tongue, hence speech, language; akin to E. tongue. See
   {Tongue}, cf. {Lingual}.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. Any means of conveying or communicating ideas;
      specifically, human speech; the expression of ideas by the
      voice; sounds, expressive of thought, articulated by the
      organs of the throat and mouth.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Language consists in the oral utterance of sounds which
         usage has made the representatives of ideas. When two
         or more persons customarily annex the same sounds to
         the same ideas, the expression of these sounds by one
         person communicates his ideas to another. This is the
         primary sense of language, the use of which is to
         communicate the thoughts of one person to another
         through the organs of hearing. Articulate sounds are
         represented to the eye by letters, marks, or
         characters, which form words.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. The expression of ideas by writing, or any other
      instrumentality.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The forms of speech, or the methods of expressing ideas,
      peculiar to a particular nation.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The characteristic mode of arranging words, peculiar to an
      individual speaker or writer; manner of expression; style.
      [1913 Webster]

            Others for language all their care express. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. The inarticulate sounds by which animals inferior to man
      express their feelings or their wants.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. The suggestion, by objects, actions, or conditions, of
      ideas associated therewith; as, the language of flowers.
      [1913 Webster]

            There was . . . language in their very gesture.
                                                  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. The vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or
      department of knowledge; as, medical language; the
      language of chemistry or theology.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. A race, as distinguished by its speech. [R.]
      [1913 Webster]

            All the people, the nations, and the languages, fell
            down and worshiped the golden image.  --Dan. iii. 7.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. Any system of symbols created for the purpose of
      communicating ideas, emotions, commands, etc., between
      sentient agents.
      [PJC]

   10. Specifically: (computers) Any set of symbols and the
       rules for combining them which are used to specify to a
       computer the actions that it is to take; also referred to
       as a {computer lanugage} or {programming language}; as,
       JAVA is a new and flexible high-level language which has
       achieved popularity very rapidly.
       [PJC]

   Note: Computer languages are classed a low-level if each
         instruction specifies only one operation of the
         computer, or high-level if each instruction may specify
         a complex combination of operations. {Machine language}
         and {assembly language} are low-level computer
         languages. {FORTRAN}, {COBOL} and {C} are high-level
         computer languages. Other computer languages, such as
         JAVA, allow even more complex combinations of low-level
         operations to be performed with a single command. Many
         programs, such as databases, are supplied with special
         languages adapted to manipulate the objects of concern
         for that specific program. These are also high-level
         languages.
         [PJC]

   {Language master}, a teacher of languages. [Obs.]

   Syn: Speech; tongue; idiom; dialect; phraseology; diction;
        discourse; conversation; talk.

   Usage: {Language}, {Speech}, {Tongue}, {Idiom}, {Dialect}.
          Language is generic, denoting, in its most extended
          use, any mode of conveying ideas; speech is the
          language of articulate sounds; tongue is the
          Anglo-Saxon term for language, esp. for spoken
          language; as, the English tongue. Idiom denotes the
          forms of construction peculiar to a particular
          language; dialects are varieties of expression which
          spring up in different parts of a country among people
          speaking substantially the same language.
          [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Legate \Leg"ate\ (l[e^]g"[asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr.
   legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr.
   lex, legis, law: cf. F. l['e]gat, It. legato. See {Legal}.]
   1. An ambassador or envoy.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An ecclesiastic representing the pope and invested with
      the authority of the Holy See.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Legates are of three kinds: ({a}) Legates a latere, now
         always cardinals. They are called ordinary or
         extraordinary legates, the former governing provinces,
         and the latter class being sent to foreign countries on
         extraordinary occasions. ({b}) Legati missi, who
         correspond to the ambassadors of temporal governments.
         ({c}) Legati nati, or legates by virtue of their
         office, as the archbishops of Salzburg and Prague.
         [1913 Webster]

   3. (Rom. Hist.)
      (a) An official assistant given to a general or to the
          governor of a province.
      (b) Under the emperors, a governor sent to a province.
          [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Libration \Li*bra"tion\ (l[-i]*br[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. libratio:
   cf. F. libration.]
   1. The act or state of librating. --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Astron.) A real or apparent libratory motion, like that
      of a balance before coming to rest.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Libration of the moon}, any one of those small periodical
      changes in the position of the moon's surface relatively
      to the earth, in consequence of which narrow portions at
      opposite limbs become visible or invisible alternately. It
      receives different names according to the manner in which
      it takes place; as: {(a)} Libration in longitude, that
      which, depending on the place of the moon in its elliptic
      orbit, causes small portions near the eastern and western
      borders alternately to appear and disappear each month.
      ({b}) Libration in latitude, that which depends on the
      varying position of the moon's axis in respect to the
      spectator, causing the alternate appearance and
      disappearance of either pole. ({c}) Diurnal or parallactic
      libration, that which brings into view on the upper limb,
      at rising and setting, some parts not in the average
      visible hemisphere.
      [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. {Monkeys}. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It.
   monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr.
   fr. madonna. See {Madonna}.]
   1. (Zool.)
      (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana,
          including apes, baboons, and lemurs.
      (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.
      (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such
          as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of
          apes and baboons.
          [1913 Webster]

   Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: ({a})
         {Catarrhines}, or {Simidae}. These have an oblong head,
         with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have
         no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old
         World. ({b}) {Platyrhines}, or {Cebidae}. These have a
         round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the
         nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail
         is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not
         opposable. These are natives of the New World. ({c})
         {Strepsorhines}, or {Lemuroidea}. These have a pointed
         head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern
         Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a
      mischievous child.
      [1913 Webster]

            This is the monkey's own giving out; she is
            persuaded I will marry her.           --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very
      heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on
      the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the
      falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Monkey boat}. (Naut.)
      (a) A small boat used in docks.
      (b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

   {Monkey block} (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a
      swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

   {Monkey flower} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Mimulus}; -- so
      called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray.

   {Monkey gaff} (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast
      for the better display of signals at sea.

   {Monkey jacket}, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by
      sailors.

   {Monkey rail} (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about
      six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

   {Monkey shine}, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

   {Monkey trick}, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury.

   {Monkey wheel}. See {Gin block}, under 5th {Gin}.
      [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Motion \Mo"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to
   move. See {Move}.]
   1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position;
      movement; the passing of a body from one place or position
      to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed
      to {rest}.
      [1913 Webster]

            Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace
            attends thee, and each word, each motion, forms.
                                                  --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Power of, or capacity for, motion.
      [1913 Webster]

            Devoid of sense and motion.           --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of
      the planets is from west to east.
      [1913 Webster]

            In our proper motion we ascend.       --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything;
      action of a machine with respect to the relative movement
      of its parts.
      [1913 Webster]

            This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its
            motion.                               --Dr. H. More.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or
      impulse to any action; internal activity.
      [1913 Webster]

            Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his
            heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from
            God.                                  --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress;
      esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly;
      as, a motion to adjourn.
      [1913 Webster]

            Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in
      open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule
      directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.
      --Mozley & W.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in
      the same part or in groups of parts.
      [1913 Webster]

            The independent motions of different parts sounding
            together constitute counterpoint.     --Grove.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale.
         Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite
         directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique
         motion is that when one part is stationary while
         another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when
         parts move in the same direction.
         [1913 Webster]

   9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            What motion's this? the model of Nineveh? --Beau. &
                                                  Fl.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound.

   {Simple motions} are: ({a}) straight translation, which, if
      of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. ({b})
      Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or
      reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called
      oscillating. ({c}) Helical, which, if of indefinite
      duration, must be reciprocating.

   {Compound motion} consists of combinations of any of the
      simple motions.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Center of motion}, {Harmonic motion}, etc. See under
      {Center}, {Harmonic}, etc.

   {Motion block} (Steam Engine), a crosshead.

   {Perpetual motion} (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to
      be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces
      independently of any action from without. According to the
      law of conservation of energy, such perpetual motion is
      impossible, and no device has yet been built that is
      capable of perpetual motion.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   Syn: See {Movement}.
        [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Symbol \Sym"bol\ (s[i^]m"b[o^]l), n. [L. symbolus, symbolum, Gr.
   sy`mbolon a sign by which one knows or infers a thing, from
   symba`llein to throw or put together, to compare; sy`n with +
   ba`llein to throw: cf. F. symbole. Cf. {Emblem}, {Parable}.]
   1. A visible sign or representation of an idea; anything
      which suggests an idea or quality, or another thing, as by
      resemblance or by convention; an emblem; a representation;
      a type; a figure; as, the lion is the symbol of courage;
      the lamb is the symbol of meekness or patience.
      [1913 Webster]

            A symbol is a sign included in the idea which it
            represents, e. g., an actual part chosen to
            represent the whole, or a lower form or species used
            as the representative of a higher in the same kind.
                                                  --Coleridge.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Math.) Any character used to represent a quantity, an
      operation, a relation, or an abbreviation.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: In crystallography, the symbol of a plane is the
         numerical expression which defines its position
         relatively to the assumed axes.
         [1913 Webster]

   3. (Theol.) An abstract or compendium of faith or doctrine; a
      creed, or a summary of the articles of religion.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. [Gr. ? contributions.] That which is thrown into a common
      fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            They do their work in the days of peace . . . and
            come to pay their symbol in a war or in a plague.
                                                  --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. Share; allotment. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            The persons who are to be judged . . . shall all
            appear to receive their symbol.       --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Chem.) An abbreviation standing for the name of an
      element and consisting of the initial letter of the Latin
      or New Latin name, or sometimes of the initial letter with
      a following one; as, {C} for carbon, {Na} for sodium
      (Natrium), {Fe} for iron (Ferrum), {Sn} for tin (Stannum),
      {Sb} for antimony (Stibium), etc. See the list of names
      and symbols under {Element}.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: In pure and organic chemistry there are symbols not
         only for the elements, but also for their grouping in
         formulas, radicals, or residues, as evidenced by their
         composition, reactions, synthesis, etc. See the diagram
         of {Benzene nucleus}, under {Benzene}.
         [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Emblem; figure; type. See {Emblem}.
        [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

higher programming language \higher programming language\ n.
   (Computers)
   A computer programming language with an instruction set
   allowing one instruction to code for several assembly
   language instructions.

   Note: The aggregation of several assembly-language
         instructions into one instruction allows much greater
         efficiency in writing computer programs. Most programs
         are now written in some higher programming language,
         such as {BASIC}, {FORTRAN}, {COBOL}, {C}, {C++},
         {PROLOG}, or {JAVA}.
         [PJC]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

C \C\ (s[=e])
   1. C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from
      the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the
      sounds of k, and g (in go); its original value being the
      latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the
      Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k. The Latin C
      was the same letter as the Greek [Gamma], [gamma], and
      came from the Greek alphabet. The Greeks got it from the
      Ph[oe]nicians. The English name of C is from the Latin
      name ce, and was derived, probably, through the French.
      Etymologically C is related to g, h, k, q, s (and other
      sibilant sounds). Examples of these relations are in L.
      acutus, E. acute, ague; E. acrid, eager, vinegar; L.
      cornu, E. horn; E. cat, kitten; E. coy, quiet; L. circare,
      OF. cerchier, E. search.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 221-228.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. (Mus.)
      (a) The keynote of the normal or "natural" scale, which
          has neither flats nor sharps in its signature; also,
          the third note of the relative minor scale of the
          same.
      (b) C after the clef is the mark of common time, in which
          each measure is a semibreve (four fourths or
          crotchets); for alla breve time it is written ?.
      (c) The "C clef," a modification of the letter C, placed
          on any line of the staff, shows that line to be middle
          C.
          [1913 Webster]

   3. As a numeral, C stands for Latin centum or 100, CC for
      200, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   {C spring}, a spring in the form of the letter C.
      [1913 Webster]

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

C
 n.

   1. The third letter of the English alphabet.

   2. ASCII 1000011.

   3. The name of a programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie
   during the early 1970s and immediately used to reimplement {Unix}; so
   called because many features derived from an earlier compiler named
   `B' in commemoration of its parent, BCPL. (BCPL was in turn descended
   from an earlier Algol-derived language, CPL.) Before Bjarne Stroustrup
   settled the question by designing {C++}, there was a humorous debate
   over whether C's successor should be named `D' or `P'. C became
   immensely popular outside Bell Labs after about 1980 and is now the
   dominant language in systems and microcomputer applications
   programming. C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and
   disdain varying according to the speaker, as "a language that combines
   all the elegance and power of assembly language with all the
   readability and maintainability of assembly language" See also
   {languages of choice}, {indent style}.

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

C
NB

   <language> A programming language designed by {Dennis Ritchie}
   at {AT&T} {Bell Labs} ca. 1972 for systems programming on the
   {PDP-11} and immediately used to reimplement {Unix}.

   It was called "C" because many features derived from an
   earlier compiler named "{B}".  In fact, C was briefly named
   "NB".  B was itself strongly influenced by {BCPL}.  Before
   {Bjarne Stroustrup} settled the question by designing {C++},
   there was a humorous debate over whether C's successor should
   be named "D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL").

   C is terse, low-level and permissive.  It has a {macro
   preprocessor}, {cpp}.

   Partly due to its distribution with {Unix}, C became immensely
   popular outside {Bell Labs} after about 1980 and is now the
   dominant language in systems and {microcomputer} applications
   programming.  It has grown popular due to its simplicity,
   efficiency, and flexibility.  C programs are often easily
   adapted to new environments.

   C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain,
   as "a language that combines all the elegance and power of
   {assembly language} with all the readability and
   maintainability of assembly language".

   Ritchie's original C, known as {K&R C} after Kernighan and
   Ritchie's book, has been {standard}ised (and simultaneously
   modified) as {ANSI C}.

   See also {ACCU}, {ae}, {c68}, {c386}, {C-Interp}, {cxref},
   {dbx}, {dsp56k-gcc}, {dsp56165-gcc}, {gc}, {GCT}, {GNU C},
   {GNU superoptimiser}, {Harvest C}, {malloc}, {mpl},
   {Pthreads}, {ups}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1996-06-01)