From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
menu \men"u\ (m[e^]n"y[=oo]), noun [F., slender, thin, minute. See 4th {Minute}.]
1. The details of a banquet; a list of the dishes served at a meal, whether or not one has a choice. [PJC]
2. Any list of objects, activities, etc. from which to choose; a selection of alternatives. [PJC]
3. Hence:A list of dishes form which to choose at a restaurant; a bill of fare.
4. Hence: (Computers) A list displayed on the computer screen, by which a program provides the user with different options for processing by the program. It usually includes a mechanism, such as pointing by a mouse or selection by arrow keys, to select the desired option from those on the list. Depending on how the menu is displayed, it may be a {pop-up menu} or {pull-down menu}. [PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a list of dishes available at a restaurant; "the menu was in French" [syn: {bill of fare}, {card}, {carte du jour}, {carte}]
2: the dishes making up a meal
3: (computer science) a list of options available to a computer user [syn: {computer menu}]
4: an agenda of things to do; "they worked rapidly down the menu of reports" [syn: {fare}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
29 Moby Thesaurus words for "menu": account, agenda, batting order, bill, bill of fare, bill of lading, blueprint, books, budget, calendar, card, carte, carte du jour, docket, invoice, ledger, lineup, list of agenda, manifest, playbill, program, program of operation, programma, prospectus, protocol, roster, schedule, slate, statement
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
menu A list from which the user may select an operation to be performed. This is often done with a {mouse} or other pointing device under a {graphical user interface} but may also be controlled from the keyboard. Menus are very convenient for beginners because they show what commands are available and make experimentating with a new program easy, often reducing the need for user documentation. Experienced users however, often prefer keyboard commands, especially for frequently user operations, because they are faster to use. In situations such as text entry where the keyboard must be used anyway, having to move your hand to the mouse to invoke a menu operation is slow. There are many different ways of presenting menus but the most common are the {menu bar} (with {pull-down menus}) and the {context-sensitive menu}. The term "menu" tends to be reserved for a list of actions or global options, whereas a "{list box}" or other graphical {widget} might present any kind of choice. See also {menuitis}. (1994-12-02)
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