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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Object \Ob"ject\ ([o^]b"j[e^]kt), noun [L. objectus. See {Object}, verb (used with an object)]
1. That which is put, or which may be regarded as put, in the way of some of the senses; something visible or tangible and persists for an appreciable time; as, he observed an object in the distance; all the objects in sight; he touched a strange object in the dark.
2. Anything which is set, or which may be regarded as set, before the mind so as to be apprehended or known; that of which the mind by any of its activities takes cognizance, whether a thing external in space or a conception formed by the mind itself; as, an object of knowledge, wonder, fear, thought, study, etc.
Object is a term for that about which the knowing subject is conversant; what the schoolmen have styled the "materia circa quam." --Sir. W. Hamilton.
The object of their bitterest hatred. --Macaulay.
3. That toward which the mind, or any of its activities, is directed; that on which the purpose are fixed as the end of action or effort; that which is sought for; goal; end; aim; motive; final cause.
Object, beside its proper signification, came to be abusively applied to denote motive, end, final cause . . . . This innovation was probably borrowed from the French. --Sir. W. Hamilton.
Let our object be, our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country. --D. Webster.
4. Sight; show; appearance; aspect. [Obs.] --Shak.
He, advancing close Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose In glorious object. --Chapman.
5. (Gram.) A word, phrase, or clause toward which an action is directed, or is considered to be directed; as, the object of a transitive verb.
6. (Computers) Any set of data that is or can be manipulated or referenced by a computer program as a single entity; -- the term may be used broadly, to include files, images (such as icons on the screen), or small data structures. More narrowly, anything defined as an object within an object-oriented programming language. [PJC]
7. (Ontology) Anything which exists and which has attributes; distinguished from {attributes}, {processes}, and {relations}. [PJC]
{Object glass}, the lens, or system of lenses, placed at the end of a telescope, microscope, etc., which is toward the object. Its function is to form an image of the object, which is then viewed by the eyepiece. Called also {objective} or {objective lens}. See Illust. of {Microscope}.
{Object lesson}, a lesson in which object teaching is made use of.
{Object staff}. (Leveling) Same as {Leveling staff}.
{Object teaching}, a method of instruction, in which illustrative objects are employed, each new word or idea being accompanied by a representation of that which it signifies; -- used especially in the kindergarten, for young children.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Objective \Ob*jec"tive\ ([o^]b*j[e^]k"t[i^]v), adjective [Cf. F. objectif.]
1. Of or pertaining to an object.
2. (Metaph.) Of or pertaining to an object; contained in, or having the nature or position of, an object; outward; external; extrinsic; -- an epithet applied to whatever is exterior to the mind, or which is simply an object of thought or feeling, as opposed to being related to thoughts of feelings, and opposed to {subjective}. [1913 Webster +PJC]
In the Middle Ages, subject meant substance, and has this sense in Descartes and Spinoza: sometimes, also, in Reid. Subjective is used by William of Occam to denote that which exists independent of mind; objective, what is formed by the mind. This shows what is meant by realitas objectiva in Descartes. Kant and Fichte have inverted the meanings. Subject, with them, is the mind which knows; object, that which is known; subjective, the varying conditions of the knowing mind; objective, that which is in the constant nature of the thing known. --Trendelenburg.
Objective has come to mean that which has independent existence or authority, apart from our experience or thought. Thus, moral law is said to have objective authority, that is, authority belonging to itself, and not drawn from anything in our nature. --Calderwood (Fleming's Vocabulary).
3. Hence: Unbiased; unprejudiced; fair; uninfluenced by personal feelings or personal interests; considering only the facts of a situation unrelated to the observer; -- of judgments, opinions, evaluations, conclusions, reasoning processes. [PJC]
Objective means that which belongs to, or proceeds from, the object known, and not from the subject knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in opposition to that which is ideal -- what exists in nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the thought of the individual. --Sir. W. Hamilton.
4. (Gram.) Pertaining to, or designating, the case which follows a transitive verb or a preposition, being that case in which the direct object of the verb is placed. See {Accusative}, noun
Note: The objective case is frequently used without a governing word, esp. in designations of time or space, where a preposition, as at, in, on, etc., may be supplied.
My troublous dream [on] this night doth make me sad. --Shak.
To write of victories [in or for] next year. --Hudibras.
{Objective line} (Perspective), a line drawn on the geometrical plane which is represented or sought to be represented.
{Objective plane} (Perspective), any plane in the horizontal plane that is represented.
{Objective point}, the point or result to which the operations of an army are directed. By extension, the point or purpose to which anything, as a journey or an argument, is directed.
Syn: {Objective}, {Subjective}.
Usage: Objective is applied to things exterior to the mind, and objects of its attention; subjective, to the operations of the mind itself. Hence, an objective motive is some outward thing awakening desire; a subjective motive is some internal feeling or propensity. Objective views are those governed by outward things; subjective views are produced or modified by internal feeling. Sir Walter Scott's poetry is chiefly objective; that of Wordsworth is eminently subjective.
In the philosophy of mind, subjective denotes what is to be referred to the thinking subject, the ego; objective what belongs to the object of thought, the non-ego. --Sir. W. Hamilton
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
1. (Gram.) The objective case.
2. An {object glass}; called also {objective lens}. See under {Object}, noun
3. Same as {Objective point}, under {Objective}, adjective
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
adjective
1: undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena; "an objective appraisal"; "objective evidence" [syn: {objective}, {nonsubjective}] [ant: {subjective}]
2: serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes; "objective case"; "accusative endings" [syn: {objective}, {accusative}]
3: emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, or interpretation; "objective art" [syn: {objective}, {documentary}]
4: belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events; "objective benefits"; "an objective example"; "there is no objective evidence of anything of the kind"
noun
1: the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see her children" [syn: {aim}, {object}, {objective}, {target}]
2: the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope that is nearest the object being viewed [syn: {objective}, {objective lens}, {object lens}, {object glass}]
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Definitions retrieved from the Open Source DICT Webster's English and WordNet 3.0 dictionaries. Click here for database copyright information.
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