algol

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Algol
    n 1: the second brightest star in Perseus; the first known
         eclipsing binary
    2: (from a combination of ALGOrithmic and Language); a
       programming language used to express computer programs as
       algorithms

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Algol \Al"gol\, n. [Ar. al-gh[=u]l destruction, calamity, fr.
   gh[=a]la to take suddenly, destroy.] (Astron.)
   A fixed star, in Medusa's head, in the constellation Perseus,
   remarkable for its periodic variation in brightness.
   [1913 Webster]

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

ALGOL 60
ALGOL

   <language> ALGOrithmic Language 1960.

   A portable language for scientific computations.  ALGOL 60 was
   small and elegant.  It was {block-structured}, nested,
   {recursive} and {free form}.  It was also the first language
   to be described in {BNF}.

   There were three {lexical} representations: hardware,
   reference, and publication.  The only structured data types
   were {arrays}, but they were permitted to have lower bounds
   and could be dynamic.  It also had {conditional expressions};
   it introduced :=; if-then-else; very general "for" loops;
   switch declaration (an array of statement {labels}
   generalising {Fortran}'s {computed goto}).  Parameters were
   {call-by-name} and {call-by-value}.  It had {static} local
   "own" variables.  It lacked user-defined types, character
   manipulation and {standard I/O}.

   See also {EULER}, {ALGOL 58}, {ALGOL 68}, {Foogol}.

   ["Report on the Algorithmic Language ALGOL 60", Peter Naur
   ed., CACM 3(5):299-314, May 1960].

   (1995-01-25)

from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)

ALGOL
       ALGOrithmic Language