Definition:
A statement of the meaning of a word or phrase. As a method of exposition, a definition may be brief or extended, part of an essay or an entire essay. See also:
- Extended Definition
- Stipulative Definition
- Synonym
- Antonym
- Dictionary
- 60 Essay Topics: Definition
- A Definition of a Jerk, by Sydney J. Harris
- Definition of Pantomime by Julian Barnes
- Vidal's Definition of Prettiness
- The Meaning of Home, by John Berger
Etymology:
From the Latin, "boundary"Examples and Observations:
- Definitions . . . are like steps cut in a steep slope of ice, or shells thrown on to a greasy pavement; they give us a foothold, and enable us to advance, but when we are at our journey's end we want them no longer."
(Samuel Butler, "Thought and Language," 1890) - "Telling the difference--identifying what two items have in common and what makes them different--is what we call a definition. . . .
"In the real, psycholinguistic world, a definition is not learned all at once; it is learned bit by bit, by adding features of meaning to the account. We must not expect total accuracy first time. To say that a factory is a place where you make things is actually a half-truth. To be precise, according to one dictionary, it is 'a building or group of buildings in which goods are produced in large quantities, using machines' (The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). That would be too much to take in all at once."
(David Crystal, How Language Works, Overlook, 2005) - "We say definition is an abstract form of description because a definition is a description of an abstract concept."
(Richard Coe, Form and Substance, Wiley, 1981) - "A definition is the enclosing a wilderness of idea within a wall of words. . . .
"Definitions are a kind of scratching and generally leave a sore place more sore than it was before."
(Samuel Butler, The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, 1912)
Pronunciation: DEF-eh-NISH-en
Also Known As: formal definition, dictionary definition
