Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A standardized, often interchangeable component of a system or construction that is designed for easy assembly or flexible use.
  • noun Architecture A length used as a unit of measurement or as a standard for determining the proportions of a building.
  • noun Electronics A self-contained assembly of electronic components and circuitry, such as a stage in a computer, that is installed as a unit.
  • noun Computers A portion of a program that carries out a specific function and may be used alone or combined with other modules of the same program.
  • noun A self-contained unit of a spacecraft that performs a specific task or class of tasks in support of the major function of the craft.
  • noun A unit of education or instruction with a relatively low student-to-teacher ratio, in which a single topic or a small section of a broad topic is studied for a given period of time.
  • noun Mathematics An algebraic system that resembles a vector space, except that the set of scalars forms a ring and not necessarily a field.
  • noun Biology A unit of modular growth, such as a coral polyp.
  • noun Archaic A standard or unit of measurement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A little measure; hence, a small quantity.
  • noun In architecture, a standard of measure often taken, particularly in antiquity and the middle ages, to regulate the proportions of an order or the disposition of an entire building.
  • noun A model or representation; a mold; a pattern.
  • noun In numismatics, the size of a coin or medal, measured by the diameter.
  • To model; shape.
  • To modulate.
  • noun Equivalent to the phrase with congruence-modulus. See modulus of a congruence, under modulus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To model; also, to modulate.
  • noun A model or measure.
  • noun (Arch.) The size of some one part, as the diameter of semi-diameter of the base of a shaft, taken as a unit of measure by which the proportions of the other parts of the composition are regulated. Generally, for columns, the semi-diameter is taken, and divided into a certain number of parts, called minutes (see Minute), though often the diameter is taken, and any dimension is said to be so many modules and minutes in height, breadth, or projection.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A self-contained component of a system, often interchangeable, which has a well-defined interface to the other components.
  • noun architecture A standard unit of measure used for determining the proportions of a building.
  • noun computing A section of a program; a subroutine or group of subroutines.
  • noun A unit of education covering a single topic.
  • noun A pre-prepared adventure scenario with related materials for a role-playing game.
  • noun mathematics An abelian group.
  • noun mathematics An algebraic structure which behaves just like a vector space over a field F, except that F is replaced by K, a commutative ring with unit.
  • noun computing A file containing a music sequence that can be played in a tracker (called also mod or music module).
  • noun hydraulics A contrivance for regulating the supply of water from an irrigation channel.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a self-contained component (unit or item) that is used in combination with other components
  • noun computer circuit consisting of an assembly of electronic components (as of computer hardware)
  • noun detachable compartment of a spacecraft
  • noun one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin modulus, diminutive of modus, measure; see med- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French module, from Latin modulus ("a small measure, a measure, mode, meter"), diminutive of modus ("measure"); see mode.

Support

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Examples

  • Here, the term module refers to the web application and any EJB or connector archive files bundled within the application.

    Sun Bloggers 2009

  • I just started running “The keep on the Shadow Fell” and while the module is a bit dry; I did not find it hard to spice up with a little flair.

    D&D 4e’s Out… And It’s Awful. Here’s Why « Geek Related 2008

  • This module is a simple implementation of the XRDS-Simple spec.

    Bookmarks for Jun 30 | FactoryCity 2008

  • When one module outshouts the rest, it controls behavior (for awhile, until another module is activated even more strongly).

    Disarming a Burglar 2007

  • Turns out that the module is a freeware cripple of a larger paid version, and this freeware one will only analyse up to 80GB.

    Sanity For Today priestofcards 2006

  • With word that OpenID support will be added to Drupal Core in version 6 (a module is already available for 4.7), if we see the addition of hcard for profiles and XFN for representing social relationships in Drupal, we may finally be moving towards a more decentralized, open-source network of socially adept web properties.

    Microformats in Drupal group formed | FactoryCity 2006

  • Misses The module is draw-length specific, and no adjustment is possible.

    Mathews Reezen Bow 2009

  • | Reply would be a big mistake to go back down this road why do we need wings? this would close the door to the moon and back to going around in endless circils. the orion command module is the correct way forward it keep's the door open for a return to the moon

    Would You Bring Back NGLT-or SLI? - NASA Watch 2009

  • This module is dropped and chemical propulsion is used to decelerate into Saturnian orbit and to maneuver within that planetary system.

    NASA/ESA Focus On Outer Planet Missions - NASA Watch 2009

  • Misses The module is draw-length specific, and no adjustment is possible.

    Mathews Reezen Bow 2009

Comments

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  • I f&$%ing hate this word. *seethes*

    January 4, 2008

  • I love that you hate this word. It's such a banal word to me (insert pithy comment about the banality of evil here). I can't imagine why you hate it, which is why I love that you hate it. In solidarity, I'll hate it too, for the rest of the week.

    Also, WeirdNet in effect. I have no idea what it's talking about.

    January 4, 2008

  • I think I probably don't hate it all the time, but I do hate it today, and for the extent of this blasted project I'm working on. So I do appreciate the solidarity of hatred.

    January 4, 2008

  • I can't hate it. I grew up with lunar module and that was exciting, starry-eyed-kid, new frontier stuff. I acknowledge that in other contexts it seems a very modern, sterile kind of word.

    January 4, 2008

  • As an object-oriented programmer, few things excite me the way modular interface design excites me. ;-)

    January 4, 2008

  • Stop that, uselessness. You're embarrassing me. ;->

    I love that chained_bear hates this word for today and intermittently, and that John hates this word for the rest of the week. I also love that bilby loves the word when prefaced with lunar, which is a wonderful word. Which I love. But I hate this word when it is sitting all by its lonesome...say, in a tiny little cubicle in a vast office full of cubicles.

    And that's my modular comment for the day. See what the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind can do?

    January 4, 2008

  • I've always wondered how you pronouced words with an ampersand in them.

    January 4, 2008

  • It's the percent sign that always stops me cold. ;-)

    January 4, 2008

  • Pretty soon this discussion will need a modulator.

    January 4, 2008

  • Listen, I grew up with the lunar module too--not literally, it wasn't in my yard or anything--and "lunar module" definitely rocks. But just plain 'module,' especially how it's used here:

    "What follows is one way this module might look..."

    just BLOWS FAT CHUNKS. *takes a moment to add blows fat chunks to her list of suckitude... and returns* It SUCKS!!!

    P.S. Jennarenn, good question! I always, no matter what word it's in, pronounce it like this: /fuk/

    January 4, 2008

  • Oh dear. That sucks. In fact it sucks backwards, upwards, though a camel-crushing straw and into the gnarly-gnashing teeth of a hurricane.

    January 4, 2008

  • It may even suck out loud on ligonberry toast, but we'll have to check that with the modulator.

    January 4, 2008

  • It may even suck out loud on ligonberry toast, but we'll have to check that with the modulator.

    January 4, 2008

  • Is it a uranium pew-36 explosive space modulator?

    January 4, 2008

  • This has become an entirely non-modular conversation, I'd say.

    January 4, 2008