Definition: open
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
open
adj 1: affording unobstructed entrance and exit; not shut or
closed; "an open door"; "they left the door open"
[syn: unfastened] [ant: shut]
2: affording free passage or access; "open drains"; "the road
is open to traffic"; "open ranks" [ant: closed]
3: with no protection or shield; "the exposed northeast
frontier"; "open to the weather"; "an open wound" [syn: exposed]
4: open to or in view of all; "an open protest"; "an open
letter to the editor"
5: used of mouth or eyes; "keep your eyes open"; "his mouth
slightly opened" [syn: opened] [ant: closed]
6: not having been filled; "the job is still open"
7: accessible to all; "open season"; "an open economy"
8: not defended or capable of being defended; "an open city";
"open to attack" [syn: assailable, undefendable, undefended]
9: (of textures) full of small openings or gaps; "an open
texture"; "a loose weave" [syn: loose]
10: having no protecting cover or enclosure; "an open boat"; "an
open fire"; "open sports cars"
11: opened out; "an open newspaper"
12: (mathematics) of a set; containing points whose neighborhood
consists of other points of the same set, or being the
complement of an open set; of an interval; containing
neither of its end points [ant: closed]
13: not brought to a conclusion; subject to further thought; "an
open question"; "our position on this bill is still
undecided"; "our lawsuit is still undetermined" [syn: undecided,
undetermined, unresolved]
14: not sealed or having been unsealed; "the letter was already
open"; "the opened package lay on the table" [syn: opened]
15: without undue constriction as from e.g. tenseness or
inhibition; "the clarity and resonance of an open tone";
"her natural and open response"
16: relatively empty of and unobstructed by fences or hedges or
headlands or shoals; "in open country"; "the open
countryside"; "open waters"; "on the open seas"
17: open and observable; not secret or hidden; "an overt lie";
"overt hostility"; "overt intelligence gathering" [syn: overt]
[ant: covert]
18: (music) used of string or hole or pipe of instruments [syn:
unstopped] [ant: stopped]
19: not requiring union membership; "an open shop employs
nonunion workers" [syn: open]
20: not secret; "open plans"; "an open ballot"
21: without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious;
"open disregard of the law"; "open family strife"; "open
hostility"; "a blatant appeal to vanity"; "a blazing
indiscretion" [syn: blatant, blazing, conspicuous]
22: affording free passage or view; "a clear view"; "a clear
path to victory" [syn: clear]
23: lax in enforcing laws; "an open town" [syn: wide-open, lawless]
24: openly straightforward and direct without reserve or
secretiveness; "his candid eyes"; "an open and trusting
nature" [syn: candid]
25: sincere and free of reserve in expression; "Please be open
with me"
26: receptive to new ideas; "an open mind"; "open to new ideas"
27: ready for business; "the stores are open"
n 1: a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water:
"finally broke out of the forest into the open" [syn: clear]
2: where the air is unconfined; "he wanted to get outdoors a
little"; "the concert was held in the open air"; "camping
in the open" [syn: outdoors, out-of-doors, open air]
3: a tournament in which both professionals and amateurs may
play
4: information that has become public; "all the reports were
out in the open"; "the facts had been brought to the
surface" [syn: surface]
v 1: cause to open or to become open; "Mary opened the car door"
[syn: open up] [ant: close]
2: start to operate or function or cause to start operating or
functioning; "open a business" [syn: open up] [ant: close]
3: become open; "The door opened" [syn: open up] [ant: close]
4: begin or set in action, of meetings, speeches, recitals,
etc.; "He opened the meeting with a long speech" [ant: close]
5: spread out or open from a closed or folded state; "open the
map"; "spread your arms" [syn: unfold, spread, spread
out] [ant: fold]
6: make available, as of an opportunity; "This opens up new
possibilities" [syn: open up]
7: become available; "an opportunity opened up" [syn: open up]
8: have an opening or passage or outlet; "The bedrooms open
into the hall"
9: make the opening move, in chess; "Kasparov opened with a
standard opening"
10: afford access to; "the door opens to the patio"; "The French
doors give onto a terrace" [syn: afford, give]
11: display the contents of a file or start an application [ant:
close]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Letter \Let"ter\, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the characters upon tablets smeared over or covered with wax. --Pliny, xiii. 11. See Liniment, and cf. Literal.] 1. A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. --Luke xxiii. 38. 2. A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle. The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural. --Walsh. 3. A writing; an inscription. [Obs.] None could expound what this letter meant. --Chaucer. 4. Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement. We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver. --Jer. Taylor. I broke the letter of it to keep the sense. --Tennyson. 5. (Print.) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type. Under these buildings . . . was the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed. --Evelyn. 6. pl. Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters. 7. pl. A letter; an epistle. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Dead letter, Drop letter, etc. See under Dead, Drop, etc. Letter book, a book in which copies of letters are kept. Letter box, a box for the reception of letters to be mailed or delivered. Letter carrier, a person who carries letters; a postman; specif., an officer of the post office who carries letters to the persons to whom they are addressed, and collects letters to be mailed. Letter cutter, one who engraves letters or letter punches. Letter lock, a lock that can not be opened when fastened, unless certain movable lettered rings or disks forming a part of it are in such a position (indicated by a particular combination of the letters) as to permit the bolt to be withdrawn. A strange lock that opens with AMEN. --Beau. & Fl. Letter paper, paper for writing letters on; especially, a size of paper intermediate between note paper and foolscap. See Paper. Letter punch, a steel punch with a letter engraved on the end, used in making the matrices for type. Letters of administration (Law), the instrument by which an administrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods and estate of a deceased person. Letter of attorney, Letter of credit, etc. See under Attorney, Credit, etc. Letter of license, a paper by which creditors extend a debtor's time for paying his debts. Letters close or clause (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; -- distinguished from letters patent. --Burrill. Letters of orders (Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc. Letters patent, overt, or open (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as, letters patent under the seal of England. Letter-sheet envelope, a stamped sheet of letter paper issued by the government, prepared to be folded and sealed for transmission by mail without an envelope. Letters testamentary (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor. Letter writer. (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters. (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters.
Open \O"pen\, a. [AS. open; akin to D. open, OS. opan, G. offan, Icel. opinn, Sw. ["o]ppen, Dan. aaben, and perh. to E. up. Cf. Up, and Ope.] 1. Free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording unobstructed ingress or egress; not impeding or preventing passage; not locked up or covered over; -- applied to passageways; as, an open door, window, road, etc.; also, to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses, boxes, baskets, bottles, etc.; also, to means of communication or approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or roadstead. Through the gate, Wide open and unquarded, Satan passed. --Milton Note: Also, figuratively, used of the ways of communication of the mind, as by the senses; ready to hear, see, etc.; as, to keep one's eyes and ears open. His ears are open unto their cry. --Ps. xxxiv. 15. 2. Free to be used, enjoyed, visited, or the like; not private; public; unrestricted in use; as, an open library, museum, court, or other assembly; liable to the approach, trespass, or attack of any one; unprotected; exposed. If Demetrius . . . have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies. --Acts xix. 33. The service that I truly did his life, Hath left me open to all injuries. --Shak. 3. Free or cleared of obstruction to progress or to view; accessible; as, an open tract; the open sea. 4. Not drawn together, closed, or contracted; extended; expanded; as, an open hand; open arms; an open flower; an open prospect. Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight. --Dryden. 5. Hence: (a) Without reserve or false pretense; sincere; characterized by sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also, generous; liberal; bounteous; -- applied to personal appearance, or character, and to the expression of thought and feeling, etc. With aspect open, shall erect his head. --Pope. The Moor is of a free and open nature. --Shak. The French are always open, familiar, and talkative. --Addison. (b) Not concealed or secret; not hidden or disguised; exposed to view or to knowledge; revealed; apparent; as, open schemes or plans; open shame or guilt. His thefts are too open. --Shak. That I may find him, and with secret gaze Or open admiration him behold. --Milton. 6. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing water ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; -- used of the weather or the climate; as, an open season; an open winter. --Bacon. 7. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration; as, an open account; an open question; to keep an offer or opportunity open. 8. Free; disengaged; unappropriated; as, to keep a day open for any purpose; to be open for an engagement. 9. (Phon.) (a) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; -- said of vowels; as, the ["a]n f["a]r is open as compared with the [=a] in s[=a]y. (b) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed without closure, as in uttering s. 10. (Mus.) (a) Not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length. (b) Produced by an open string; as, an open tone. The open air, the air out of doors. Open chain. (Chem.) See Closed chain, under Chain. Open circuit (Elec.), a conducting circuit which is incomplete, or interrupted at some point; -- opposed to an uninterrupted, or closed circuit. Open communion, communion in the Lord's supper not restricted to persons who have been baptized by immersion. Cf. Close communion, under Close, a. Open diapason (Mus.), a certain stop in an organ, in which the pipes or tubes are formed like the mouthpiece of a flageolet at the end where the wind enters, and are open at the other end. Open flank (Fort.), the part of the flank covered by the orillon. Open-front furnace (Metal.), a blast furnace having a forehearth. Open harmony (Mus.), harmony the tones of which are widely dispersed, or separated by wide intervals. Open hawse (Naut.), a hawse in which the cables are parallel or slightly divergent. Cf. Foul hawse, under Hawse. Open hearth (Metal.), the shallow hearth of a reverberatory furnace. Open-hearth furnace, a reverberatory furnace; esp., a kind of reverberatory furnace in which the fuel is gas, used in manufacturing steel. Open-hearth process (Steel Manuf.), a process by which melted cast iron is converted into steel by the addition of wrought iron, or iron ore and manganese, and by exposure to heat in an open-hearth furnace; -- also called the Siemens-Martin process, from the inventors. Open-hearth steel, steel made by an open-hearth process; -- also called Siemens-Martin steel. Open newel. (Arch.) See Hollow newel, under Hollow. Open pipe (Mus.), a pipe open at the top. It has a pitch about an octave higher than a closed pipe of the same length. Open-timber roof (Arch.), a roof of which the constructional parts, together with the under side of the covering, or its lining, are treated ornamentally, and left to form the ceiling of an apartment below, as in a church, a public hall, and the like. Open vowel or consonant. See Open, a., 9. Note: Open is used in many compounds, most of which are self-explaining; as, open-breasted, open-minded. Syn: Unclosed; uncovered; unprotected; exposed; plain; apparent; obvious; evident; public; unreserved; frank; sincere; undissembling; artless. See Candid, and Ingenuous.
Open \O"pen\, n.
Open or unobstructed space; clear land, without trees or
obstructions; open ocean; open water. ``To sail into the
open.'' --Jowett (Thucyd. ).
Then we got into the open. --W. Black.
In open, in full view; without concealment; openly. [Obs.]
Open \O"pen\ v. t. [imp. & p. p. Opened; p. pr. & vb. n. Opening.] [AS. openian. See Open,a.] 1. To make or set open; to render free of access; to unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or covering from; as, to open a door; to open a box; to open a room; to open a letter. And all the windows of my heart I open to the day. --Whittier. 2. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand. 3. To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain. The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death. --Bacon. Unto thee have I opened my cause. --Jer. xx. 12. While he opened to us the Scriptures. --Luke xxiv. 32. 4. To make known; to discover; also, to render available or accessible for settlements, trade, etc. The English did adventure far for to open the North parts of America. --Abp. Abbot. 5. To enter upon; to begin; as, to open a discussion; to open fire upon an enemy; to open trade, or correspondence; to open a case in court, or a meeting. 6. To loosen or make less compact; as, to open matted cotton by separating the fibers. To open one's mouth, to speak. To open up, to lay open; to discover; to disclose. Poetry that had opened up so many delightful views into the character and condition of our ``bold peasantry, their country's pride.'' --Prof. Wilson.
Open \O"pen\, v. i.
1. To unclose; to form a hole, breach, or gap; to be
unclosed; to be parted.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and
covered the company of Abiram. --Ps. cvi. 17.
2. To expand; to spread out; to be disclosed; as, the harbor
opened to our view.
3. To begin; to commence; as, the stock opened at par; the
battery opened upon the enemy.
4. (Sporting) To bark on scent or view of the game.
Audience \Au"di*ence\, n. [F. audience, L. audientia, fr. audire to hear. See Audible, a.] 1. The act of hearing; attention to sounds. Thou, therefore, give due audience, and attend. --Milton. 2. Admittance to a hearing; a formal interview, esp. with a sovereign or the head of a government, for conference or the transaction of business. According to the fair play of the world, Let me have audience: I am sent to speak. --Shak. 3. An auditory; an assembly of hearers. Also applied by authors to their readers. Fit audience find, though few. --Milton. He drew his audience upward to the sky. --Dryden. Court of audience, or Audience court (Eng.), a court long since disused, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury; also, one belonging to the Archbishop of York. --Mozley & W. In general (or open) audience, publicly. To give audience, to listen; to admit to an interview.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
open 1. To prepare to read or write a file. This usually involves checking whether the file already exists and that the user has the necessary authorisation to read or write it. The result of a successful open is usually some kind of capability (e.g. a Unix file descriptor) - a token that the user passes back to the system in order to access the file without further checks and finally to close the file. 2. Abbreviation for "open (or left) parenthesis" - used when necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity. To read aloud the LISP form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun foo, open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close." 3. Non-proprietary. An open standard is one which can be used without payment. [Jargon File] (1995-01-31)
Source: V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms December 2001
OPEN
Open Protocol Enhanced Networks
Source: Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
open n. Abbreviation for `open (or left) parenthesis' -- used when necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity. To read aloud the LISP form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun foo, open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close."
