different between definition vs prescription

English

Etymology

From Middle English diffinicioun, from Middle French definition, from Latin d?f?n?ti?, from d?f?ni?. Equivalent to define +? -tion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?f??n??(?)n/, /?d?f??n???n/
• Hyphenation: def?in?ition

Noun

definition (countable and uncountable, plural definitions)

1. (semantics, lexicography) A statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol (dictionary definitions).

2. (usually with the definite article the) A clear instance conforming to the dictionary or textbook definition.
   • 2008 May, Shoeless Wayne Santos, “Baroque” (game review), GameAxis Unwired, Hardware Zone Pte, page 51:

     Baroque is a good game, but only for a very narrow subset of the gaming audience. It is the very definition of a niche title.

   • 2016 March 1, Stuart Heritage, “Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy – it’s the very definition of a hidden gem”, The Guardian:

     Comedy Bang! Bang! It’s silly, it spoofy – it’s the very definition of a hidden gem

   • 2019 September 25, Chris Cilizza, “The Ukraine call ‘transcript’ is pretty darn close to a smoking gun”, ThePo!nt, CNN:

     That Trump just came out and asked for Zelensky to investigate the Bidens – after reminding him several times of how much the US did for Ukraine!!!! – is something very close to the textbook definition of a quid pro quo.

3. A statement expressing the essential nature of something; formulation
4. The action or process of defining.
5. The act of defining; determination of the limits.
6. A product of defining.
7. The action or power of describing, explaining, or making definite and clear.

8. Clarity of visual presentation, distinctness of outline or detail.

9. Clarity, especially of musical sound in reproduction.
10. Sharp demarcation of outlines or limits.

11. (bodybuilding) The degree to which individual muscles are distinct on the body.
12. (programming) A statement which provides a previous declaration with a value or body of a subroutine (in the case of function).
13. (mathematics) A statement that establishes the referent of a term or notation.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:definition

Hyponyms

Derived terms

• high-definition

Related terms

Translations

See also

• definiendum
• definiens
• genus
• differentia

References

• definition on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Finnish

Noun

definition

1. genitive singular of definitio

Middle French

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin d?f?n?ti?.

Noun

definition f (plural definitions)

1. definition (clarification of this definition is needed)

Descendants

• ? Dutch: definitie
• ? English: definition
• French: définition
  • Haitian Creole: definisyon
  • ? Romanian: defini?ie

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?f?n?¹?u?n/

Noun

definition c

1. a definition

Declension

Related terms

• definiera
• definiering
• definitionsfråga
• definitionsförsök
• definitionsmängd
• definitionsmässig
• definitionsordbok
• definitiv

See also

• betydelse
• finit
• ordförklaring

References

• definition in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

English

Alternative forms

• præscription (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p???sk??p??n/, (proscribed) /p??sk??p??n/

Noun

prescription (countable and uncountable, plural prescriptions)

1. (law)
   1. The act of prescribing a rule, law, etc..
      • "Jurisdiction to prescribe" is a state's authority to make its laws applicable to certain persons or activities. -- Richard G. Alexander, Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996: Congress exceeds its jurisdiction to prescribe law. Washington and Lee Law Review, 1997.
   2. Also called extinctive prescription or liberative prescription. A time period within which a right must be exercised, otherwise it will be extinguished.
   3. Also called acquisitive prescription. A time period after which a person who has, in the role of an owner, uninterruptedly, peacefully, and publicly possessed another's property acquires the property. The described process is known as acquisition by prescription and adverse possession.
2. (medicine, pharmacy, pharmacology) A written order, as by a physician or nurse practitioner, for the administration of a medicine or other intervention. See also scrip.
   • The surgeon wrote a prescription for a pain killer and physical therapy.
3. (medicine) The prescription medicine or intervention so prescribed.
   • The pharmacist gave her a bottle containing her prescription.
4. (ophthalmology) The formal description of the lens geometry needed for spectacles, etc..
   • The optician followed the optometrist's prescription for her new eyeglasses.
5. (linguistics) The act or practice of laying down norms of language usage, as opposed to description, i.e. recording and describing actual usage.
6. (linguistics) An instance of a prescriptive pronouncement.
7. A plan or procedure to obtain a given end result; a recipe.
   • "Early to bed and early to rise" is a prescription for a healthy lifestyle.
8. (obsolete) Circumscription; restraint; limitation.
   • 1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, ch 2:

     There is an air of prescription about him which is always agreeable to Sir Leicester; he receives it as a kind of tribute. ... It expresses, as it were, the steward of the legal mysteries, the butler of the legal cellar, of the Dedlocks.

Usage notes

• Do not confuse with proscription.

Synonyms

• forescript
• (medicine): ?, Rx
• (a plan or procedure): recipe

Related terms

• prescribe

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

prescription (not comparable)

1. (of a drug, etc.) only available with a physician or nurse practitioner's written prescription

   Many powerful pain killers are prescription drugs in the U.S.

Translations

See also

• prescriptivism

French

Etymology

From Old French prescripcion, borrowed from Latin praescriptio, praescriptionem.

Pronunciation

Noun

prescription f (plural prescriptions)

1. prescription (all senses)

Norman

Etymology

From Old French prescripcion, borrowed from Latin praescriptio, praescriptionem.

Noun

prescription f (plural prescriptions)

1. (Jersey) prescription