What does rule mean?

What does rule mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does rule mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior(it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast short haircuts were the regulation)[v] exercise authority over; as of nations(Who is governing the country now?)[n] something regarded as a normative example(the convention of not

rule

rule - The Free Dictionary

[n] a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
(it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast short haircuts were the regulation)

[v] exercise authority over; as of nations
(Who is governing the country now?)

[n] something regarded as a normative example
(the convention of not naming the main character violence is the rule not the exception his formula for impressing visitors)

[v] decide with authority
(The King decreed that all firstborn males should be killed)

[n] prescribed guide for conduct or action

[v] be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
(Money reigns supreme here Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood)

[n] (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice

[v] decide on and make a declaration about
(find someone guilty)

[n] a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct
(their principles of composition characterized all their works)

[v] have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac

[n] the duration of a monarch's or government's power
(during the rule of Elizabeth)

[v] mark or draw with a ruler
(rule the margins)

[n] dominance or power through legal authority
(France held undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa the rule of Caesar)

[v] keep in check
(rule one's temper)

[n] directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted
(he knew the rules of chess)

[n] any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order
(the rule of St. Dominic)

[n] a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system
(the principle of the conservation of mass the principle of jet propulsion the right-hand rule for inductive fields)

[n] (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems
(he determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs he gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials)

[n] measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths

Other vocabulary

r, r and b, r-2, r. b. cattell, r. buckminster fuller, r. j. mitchell, r.c., r.v., ra, rabat, rabato, rabbet, rabbet joint, rabbet plane, rabbi, rabbi moses ben maimon, rabbinate, rabbinic, rabbinical, rabbit, rabbit bandicoot, rabbit brush, rabbit burrow, rabbit bush, rabbit ears, rabbit fever, rabbit food, rabbit hole, rabbit hutch, rabbit on, u, u-boat, u-drive, u-shaped, u-turn, u. s. air force, u. s. army, u. s. army special forces, u. s. coast guard, u. s. code, u.k., u.s., u.s. army criminal investigation laboratory, u.s. congress, u.s. constitution, u.s. government, u.s. house, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. mint, u.s. national library of medicine, u.s. senate, u.s. waters, u.s.a., u308, uakari, ubermensch, ubiety, ubiquinone, ubiquitous, ubiquitousness

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.