subscription

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

• noun A purchase made by signed order, as for a periodical for a specified period of time or for a series of performances.
• noun An agreement to receive or be given access to electronic texts or services, especially over the Internet.
• noun Acceptance, as of articles of faith, demonstrated by the signing of one's name.
• noun The raising of money from subscribers.
• noun A sum of money so raised.
• noun The signing of one's name, as to a document.
• noun Something subscribed.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of subscribing, in any sense of that word.
• noun That which is subscribed.
• noun The signature attached to a paper. In law subscription implies written signature at the end of a document. See signature, 3, sign, v., 2.
• noun Consent, agreement, or attestation given by signature.
• noun A sum subscribed; the amount of sums subscribed: as, an individual subscription, or the whole subscription, to a fund.
• noun A formal agreement to make a payment or payments. See subscribe, v. i., 1.
• noun Submission; obedience.
• noun [The word subscription is also used attributively, especially as noting what is done by means of the subscribing of money or by money subscribed.

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

• noun The act of subscribing.
• noun That which is subscribed.
• noun A paper to which a signature is attached.
• noun The signature attached to a paper.
• noun Consent or attestation by underwriting the name.
• noun Sum subscribed; amount of sums subscribed.
• noun (Eccl.) The acceptance of articles, or other tests tending to promote uniformity; esp. (Ch. of Eng.), formal assent to the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer, required before ordination.
• noun obsolete Submission; obedience.
• noun (Pharm.) That part of a prescription which contains the direction to the apothecary.

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

• noun access to a resource for a period of time.
• noun the formal acceptance of something, especially when verified with a signature
• noun the signing of one's name

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

• noun a payment for consecutive issues of a newspaper or magazine for a given period of time
• noun the act of signing your name; writing your signature (as on a document)
• noun a pledged contribution
• noun agreement expressed by (or as if expressed by) signing your name