Definition: sum

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

sum
     n 1: a quantity of money; "he borrowed a large sum"; "the amount
          he had in cash was insufficient" [syn: sum of money, amount,
           amount of money]
     2: a quantity obtained by addition [syn: amount, total]
     3: the final aggregate; "the sum of all our troubles did not
        equal the misery they suffered" [syn: sum total]
     4: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some
        idea or experience: "the gist of the prosecutor's
        argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party";
        "the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core,
         center, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness,
         marrow, meat, nub, pith, nitty-gritty]
     5: the whole amount [syn: total, totality, aggregate]
     6: a set containing all and only the members of two or more
        given sets; "let C be the union of the sets A and B" [syn:
         union, join]
     v : determine the sum of; "Add all the people in this town to
         those of the neighboring town" [syn: total, tot, tot
         up, sum up, summate, tote up, add, add together,
          tally, add up]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sum \Sum\, n. [OE. summe, somme, OF. sume, some, F. somme, L.
   summa, fr. summus highest, a superlative from sub under. See
   Sub-, and cf. Supreme.]
   1. The aggregate of two or more numbers, magnitudes,
      quantities, or particulars; the amount or whole of any
      number of individuals or particulars added together; as,
      the sum of 5 and 7 is 12.

            Take ye the sum of all the congregation. --Num. i.
                                                  2.

   Note: Sum is now commonly applied to an aggregate of numbers,
         and number to an aggregate of persons or things.

   2. A quantity of money or currency; any amount, indefinitely;
      as, a sum of money; a small sum, or a large sum. ``The sum
      of forty pound.'' --Chaucer.

            With a great sum obtained I this freedom. --Acts
                                                  xxii. 28.

   3. The principal points or thoughts when viewed together; the
      amount; the substance; compendium; as, this is the sum of
      all the evidence in the case; this is the sum and
      substance of his objections.

   4. Height; completion; utmost degree.

            Thus have I told thee all my state, and brought My
            story to the sum of earthly bliss.    --Milton.

   5. (Arith.) A problem to be solved, or an example to be
      wrought out. --Macaulay.

            A sum in arithmetic wherein a flaw discovered at a
            particular point is ipso facto fatal to the whole.
                                                  --Gladstone.

            A large sheet of paper . . . covered with long sums.
                                                  --Dickens.

   Algebraic sum, as distinguished from arithmetical sum, the
      aggregate of two or more numbers or quantities taken with
      regard to their signs, as + or -, according to the rules
      of addition in algebra; thus, the algebraic sum of -2, 8,
      and -1 is 5.

   In sum, in short; in brief. [Obs.] ``In sum, the gospel . .
      . prescribes every virtue to our conduct, and forbids
      every sin.'' --Rogers.
Sum \Sum\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Summed; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Summing.] [Cf. F. sommer, LL. summare.]
   1. To bring together into one whole; to collect into one
      amount; to cast up, as a column of figures; to ascertain
      the totality of; -- usually with up.

            The mind doth value every moment, and then the hour
            doth rather sum up the moments, than divide the day.
                                                  --Bacon.

   2. To bring or collect into a small compass; to comprise in a
      few words; to condense; -- usually with up.

            ``Go to the ant, thou sluggard,'' in few words sums
            up the moral of this fable.           --L'Estrange.

            He sums their virtues in himself alone. --Dryden.

   3. (Falconry) To have (the feathers) full grown; to furnish
      with complete, or full-grown, plumage.

            But feathered soon and fledge They summed their pens
            [wings].                              --Milton.

   Summing up, a compendium or abridgment; a recapitulation; a
      r['e]sum['e]; a summary.

   Syn: To cast up; collect; comprise; condense; comprehend;
        compute.

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)

sum

   1. <theory> In domain theory, the sum A + B of two domains
   contains all elements of both domains, modified to indicate
   which part of the union they come from, plus a new bottom
   element.  There are two constructor functions associated with
   the sum:

   	inA : A -> A+B       inB : B -> A+B
   	inA(a) = (0,a)	     inB(b) = (1,b)

   and a disassembly operation:

   	case d of isA(x) -> E1; isB(x) -> E2

   This can be generalised to arbitrary numbers of domains.

   See also smash sum, disjoint union.

   2.  A Unix utility to calculate a 16-bit checksum of
   the data in a file.  It also displays the size of the file,
   either in kilobytes or in 512-byte blocks.  The checksum may
   differ on machines with 16-bit and 32-bit ints.

   Unix manual page: sum(1).

   (1995-03-16)