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c

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C, c

[see]
–noun, plural C's or Cs, c's or cs.
1. the third letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any spoken sound represented by the letter C or c, as in cat, race, or circle.
3. something having the shape of a C.
4. a written or printed representation of the letter C or c.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter C or c.

C

1. cocaine.
2. Grammar. complement.
3. consonant.
4. coulomb.
5. county (used with a number to designate a county road): C55.

C

Symbol.
1. the third in order or in a series.
2. (sometimes lowercase) (in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or college, indicating the quality of a student's work as fair or average.
3. Music.
a. the first tone, or keynote, in the scale of C major or the third tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.
b. a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
c. a written or printed note representing this tone.
d. (in the fixed system of solmization) the first tone of the scale of C major, called do.
e. the tonality having C as the tonic note.
f. a symbol indicating quadruple time and appearing after the clef sign on a musical staff.
4. (sometimes lowercase) the Roman numeral for 100.
5. Celsius.
6. centigrade.
7. Electricity.
a. capacitance.
b. a battery size for 1.5 volt dry cells: diameter, 1 in. (2.5 cm); length, 1.9 in. (4.8 cm).
8. Chemistry. carbon.
9. Physics.
a. charge conjugation.
b. charm 1 (def. 9).
10. Biochemistry.
a. cysteine.
b. cytosine.
11. Also, C-note. Slang. a hundred-dollar bill.
12. a proportional shoe width size, narrower than D and wider than B.
13. a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than D and larger than B.
14. the lowest quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond.
15. Computers. a high-level programming language: very powerful and flexible, it is used in a wide variety of applications.

c

1. calorie.
2. Optics. candle; candles.
3. (with a year) about: c1775. Origin:
< L circā, circiter, circum
4. Physics, Chemistry. curie; curies.
5. cycle; cycles.

c

Symbol.
1. Optics, Physics. the velocity of light in a vacuum: approximately 186,000 miles per second or 299,793 kilometers per second.
2. Acoustics, Physics. the velocity of sound.

(in prescriptions) with.

Origin:
< L cum

C.

1. Calorie.
2. Cape.
3. Catholic.
4. Celsius.
5. Celtic.
6. Centigrade.
7. College.
8. (in Costa Rica and El Salvador) colon; colons.
9. Congress.
10. Conservative.

C-

U.S. Military.
(in designations of transport aircraft) cargo: C-54; C-124.

c.

1. calorie.
2. Optics. candle; candles.
3. carat.
4. carbon.
5. carton.
6. case.
7. Baseball. catcher.
8. cathode.
9. cent; cents.
10. centavo.
11. Football. center.
12. centigrade.
13. centime.
14. centimeter.
15. century.
16. chairman; chairperson.
17. chapter.
18. chief.
19. child.
20. church.
21. (with a year) about: c. 1775. Origin:
< L circā, circiter, circum
22. cirrus.
23. city.
24. cloudy.
25. cognate.
26. color.
27. gallon. Origin:
< L congius
28. copper.
29. copyright.
30. corps.
31. cubic.
32. (in prescriptions) with. Origin:
< L cum
33. cycle; cycles.

can⋅dle

[kan-dl] noun, verb, -dled, -dling.
–noun
1. a long, usually slender piece of tallow or wax with an embedded wick that is burned to give light.
2. something resembling a candle in appearance or use.
3. Optics.
a. (formerly) candela.
b. Also called international candle. a unit of luminous intensity, defined as a fraction of the luminous intensity of a group of 45 carbon-filament lamps: used from 1909 to 1948 as the international standard.
c. a unit of luminous intensity, equal to the luminous intensity of a wax candle of standard specifications: used prior to 1909 as the international standard. Abbreviation: c., c
–verb (used with object)
4. to examine (eggs) for freshness, fertility, etc., by holding them up to a bright light.
5. to hold (a bottle of wine) in front of a lighted candle while decanting so as to detect sediment and prevent its being poured off with the wine.
6. burn the candle at both ends. burn (def. 43).
7. hold a candle to, to compare favorably with (usually used in the negative): She's smart, but she can't hold a candle to her sister.
8. worth the candle, worth the trouble or effort involved (usually used in the negative): Trying to win them over to your viewpoint is not worth the candle.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE candel < L candēla, equiv. to cand(ēre) to shine + -ēla deverbal n. suffix; see candid


candler, noun

car⋅at

[kar-uht]
–noun
1. a unit of weight in gemstones, 200 milligrams (about 3 grains of troy or avoirdupois weight). Abbreviation: c., ct.
2. karat.

Origin:
1545–55; < ML carratus (used by alchemists) < Ar qīrāṭ weight of 4 grains < Gk kerátion carob bean, weight of 3 1/3 grains, lit., little horn, equiv. to kerat- (s. of kéras) horn + -ion dim. suffix

cir⋅ca

[sur-kuh]
–preposition, adverb
about: (used esp. in) approximate dates: The Venerable Bede was born circa 673. Abbreviation: ca, ca., c., c, cir., circ.

Origin:
1860–65; < L: around, about, akin to circus circus

co⋅lon

3[koh-lohn; Sp. kaw-lawn]
–noun, plural -lons, Spanish. -lo⋅nes [-law-nes] .
1. the paper monetary unit of El Salvador, equal to 100 centavos. Abbreviation: C.
2. a cupronickel or steel coin and monetary unit of Costa Rica, equal to 100 centimos.

Origin:
1890–95; < AmerSp, after (Cristobal) Colón (Christopher) Columbus

cou⋅lomb

[koo-lom, -lohm, koo-lom, -lohm]
–noun
the SI unit of quantity of electricity, equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second across a conductor in which there is a constant current of one ampere. Abbreviation: C

Origin:
1880–85; after Coulomb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To c
c 1 or C   (sē)   
n.   pl. c's or C's also cs or Cs
  1. The third letter of the modern English alphabet.

  2. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter c.

  3. The third in a series.

  4. Something shaped like the letter C.

  5. C The third best or third highest in quality or rank: a mark of C on a term paper.

  6. Music

    1. The first tone in the scale of C major or the third tone in the relative minor scale.

    2. A key or scale in which the tone of C is the tonic.

    3. A written or printed note representing this tone.

    4. A string, key, or pipe tuned to the pitch of this tone.

c 2  
abbr.  
  1. Physics candle

  2. carat

  3. charm quark

  4. circumference

  5. also C Mathematics constant

  6. cubic

C 1   (sē)   
n.  A programming language widely used for systems programming.
C 2  
  1. The symbol for the element carbon.

  2. also c The symbol for the Roman numeral one hundred.

  3. c The symbol for the speed of light in a vacuum.

  4. The symbol for capacitance.

  5. The symbol for charge conjugation.

C 3  
abbr.  
  1. Celsius

  2. centigrade

  3. Physics charm

  4. cold

  5. consonant

  6. coulomb

  7. cytosine

can·dle   (kān'dl)   
n.  
    1. A solid, usually cylindrical mass of tallow, wax, or other fatty substance with an axially embedded wick that is burned to provide light.

    2. Something resembling this object in shape or use.

    3. Abbr. c An obsolete unit of luminous intensity, originally defined in terms of a wax candle with standard composition and equal to 1.02 candelas. Also called international candle.

    4. See candela.

  1. Physics

    1. Abbr. c An obsolete unit of luminous intensity, originally defined in terms of a wax candle with standard composition and equal to 1.02 candelas. Also called international candle.

    2. See candela.

tr.v.   can·dled, can·dling, can·dles
To examine (an egg) for freshness or fertility by holding it before a bright light.

[Middle English candel, from Old English and from Anglo-Norman candele, both from Latin candēla, from candēre, to shine; see kand- in Indo-European roots.]
can'dler n.
ca·pac·i·tance   (kə-pās'ĭ-təns)   
n.  
  1. Symbol C The ratio of charge to potential on an electrically charged, isolated conductor.

  2. Symbol C The ratio of the electric charge transferred from one to the other of a pair of conductors to the resulting potential difference between them.

    1. The property of a circuit element that permits it to store charge.

    2. The part of the circuit exhibiting capacitance.


[capacit(y) + -ance.]
ca·pac'i·tive (-tĭv) adj., ca·pac'i·tive·ly adv.
car·at   (kār'ət)   
n.   Abbr. c or car.
  1. A unit of weight for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams.

  2. Variant of karat.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin quarātus, from Arabic qīrāṭ, weight of four grains, from Greek kerātion, a weight, diminutive of keras, kerāt-, horn; see ker-1 in Indo-European roots.]
car·bon   (kär'bən)   
n.  
  1. Symbol C A naturally abundant nonmetallic element that occurs in many inorganic and in all organic compounds, exists freely as graphite and diamond and as a constituent of coal, limestone, and petroleum, and is capable of chemical self-bonding to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically, and commercially important molecules. Atomic number 6; atomic weight 12.011; sublimation point above 3,500°C; boiling point 4,827°C; specific gravity of amorphous carbon 1.8 to 2.1, of diamond 3.15 to 3.53, of graphite 1.9 to 2.3; valence 2, 3, 4. See Table at element.

    1. A sheet of carbon paper.

    2. A carbon copy.

    3. Either of two rods through which current flows to form an arc, as in lighting or welding.

    4. A carbonaceous electrode in an electric cell.

  2. Electricity

    1. Either of two rods through which current flows to form an arc, as in lighting or welding.

    2. A carbonaceous electrode in an electric cell.


[French carbone, from Latin carbō, carbōn-, a coal, charcoal; see ker-3 in Indo-European roots.]
car'bon·ous (-bə-nəs) adj.
Cel·si·us   (sěl'sē-əs, -shəs)   
adj.   Abbr. C
Of or relating to a temperature scale that registers the freezing point of water as 0° and the boiling point as 100° under normal atmospheric pressure. See Table at measurement.

[After Anders Celsius.]
cen·ti·grade   (sěn'tĭ-grād')   
adj.   Abbr. C or cent.
Celsius. See Table at measurement.

[French : centi-, centi- + grade, degree (from Italian grado, rank, degree, from Latin gradus, step; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots).]
charge conjugation  
n.   Symbol C
  1. A mathematical operator that changes the sign of the charge and of the magnetic moment of every particle in the system to which it is applied.

  2. The theoretical conversion of matter to antimatter or of antimatter to matter.

charm quark  
n.   Abbr. c
A quark with a charge of + 2/3 , a mass about 2,900 times that of the electron, and a charm of +1. See Table at subatomic particle.
cir·cum·fer·ence   (sər-kŭm'fər-əns)   
n.  
  1. The boundary line of a circle.

    1. The boundary line of a figure, area, or object.

    2. Abbr. c or circ. The length of such a boundary.


[Middle English, from Old French circonference, from Latin circumferentia, from circumferēns, circumferent-, present participle of circumferre, to carry around : circum-, circum- + ferre, to carry; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.]
cir·cum'fer·en'tial (-fə-rěn'shəl) adj.
Synonyms: These nouns refer to a line around a closed figure or area: the circumference of the earth; followed the circuit around the park; stayed within the compass of the schoolyard; the perimeter of a rectangle; a fence around the periphery of the property.
cou·lomb   (kōō'lŏm', -lōm')   
n.   Abbr. C
The meter-kilogram-second unit of electrical charge equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second by a steady current of one ampere. See Table at measurement.
adj.   also cou·lom·bic (kōō-lŏm'bĭk, -lōm'-)
Of or relating to the Coulomb force.

[After Charles Augustin de Coulomb.]
cu·bic   (kyōō'bĭk)   
adj.  
    1. Having the shape of a cube.

    2. Shaped similar to a cube.

    3. Having three dimensions.

    4. Abbr. c or cu. Having a volume equal to a cube whose edge is of a stated length: a cubic foot.

    1. Having three dimensions.

    2. Abbr. c or cu. Having a volume equal to a cube whose edge is of a stated length: a cubic foot.

  1. Mathematics Of the third power, order, or degree.

  2. Of or relating to a crystalline form that has three equal axes at right angles to each other; isometric.

n.   Mathematics
A cubic expression, curve, or equation.
cu'bic·ly adv.
cy·to·sine   (sī'tə-sēn')   
n.   Abbr. C
A pyrimidine base, C4H5N3O, that is the constituent of DNA and RNA involved in base pairing with guanine.

[cyt(o)- + (rib)os(e) + -ine2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

colon

The middle and longest part of the large intestine. (See digestive system.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

candle 
O.E. candel, early church-word borrowing from L. candela "a light, torch," from candere "to shine," from PIE base *kand- "to glow, to shine, to shoot out light" (cf. Skt. cand- "to give light, shine," candra- "shining, glowing, moon;" Gk. kandaros "coal;" Welsh cann "white;" M.Ir. condud "fuel"). Candles were unknown in ancient Greece (where oil lamps sufficed), but common from early times among Romans and Etruscans. Candles on birthday cakes seems to have been originally a German custom. To hold a candle to originally meant "to help in a subordinate capacity." Candlemass, O.E. candelmæsse, is the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary (Feb. 2), celebrated with many candles, corresponding to Celtic pagan Imbolc. To burn the candle at both ends is recorded from 1730.

carat 
1469, from M.Fr. carat, from It. carato, from Arabic qirat "pod, husk, weight of 4 grains," from Gk. keration "carob seed," lit. "little horn" dim. of keras "horn." Carob beans were a standard for weighing small quantities. As a measure of diamond weight, from 1575. The Gk. measure was the equivalent of the Roman siliqua, which was one-twentyfourth of a golden solidus of Constantine; hence the word took on a sense of "a proportion of one twentyfourth" and became a measure of gold purity (1555). Eighteen carat gold is eighteen parts gold, six parts alloy. It is unlikely that the carat was ever a measure of weight for gold.

circa 
1861, from L. circa "about."

colon  (2)
"large intestine," 1398, from Gk. kolon (with a short initial -o-) "large intestine, food, meat."

coulomb 
1881, named for Charles de Coulomb (1736-1806), who devised a method of measuring electrical quantity. It is the quantity of electricity conveyed in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

C

A Nasdaq stock symbol indicating the issuer has been granted a continuance in Nasdaq under an exception to the qualification standards for a limited period.

Investopedia Commentary

Nasdaq-listed securities have four or five characters. If a fifth letter appears, it identifies the issue as other than a single issue of common stock or capital stock.

See also: Nasdaq, Stock Symbol

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Financial Dictionary

c

  1. Used in the dividend column of stock transaction tables of newspapers to indicate that the listed dividend is a liquidating dividend: City Inv 7.50c.

  2. Used in money market mutual fund transaction tables in newspapers to indicate funds that are chiefly or wholly exempt from federal income taxes: Fld Tax Exmpt c.


Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: c
Function: abbreviation
copyright
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: c
Function: abbreviation
1 calorie
2 canine
3 cathode
4 centimeter
5 clonus
6 closure
7cobalt
8 coefficient
9 contact
10 contraction
11 coulomb
12 curie
13 cylinder
14 or {cmacr}[Latin cum] with —used in writing prescriptions

Main Entry: C
Function: abbreviation
1 Celsius
2 centigrade
3 cervical —used especially with a number from 1 to 7 to indicate a vertebra orsegment of the spinal cord
4 cocaine
5 complement
6 congius
7 cytosine

Main Entry: C
Function: symbol
carbon

Main Entry: can·dle
Pronunciation: 'kan-d&l
Function: noun
1 : a medicated candle or lozenge used for fumigation
2 : CANDELA

Main Entry: co·lon
Pronunciation: 'kO-l&n
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural colons or co·la /-l&/
: the part of the large intestine that extends from the cecum to the rectum

Main Entry: cou·lomb
Pronunciation: 'kü-"läm, -"lOm, kü-'
Function: noun
: the practical mks unit of electric charge equal to thequantity of electricity transferred by a current of one ampere in one second
Couálomb /ku-lOn/, Charles–Augustin de (1736–1806), Frenchphysicist. A pioneer in electrical theory, Coulomb is known for his formulation of the law (now identified with him) in physics regarding the force between two electrical charges. He also establishedthat the attraction and repulsion of unlike and like magnetic poles varies inversely as the square of the distance between them. In the course of his career Coulomb did research on friction as appliedto machinery, on windmills, and on the elasticity of metal and silk fibers. The electrical unit of measure was named in his honor in 1881 by the Paris Congress on electricity.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

c abbr.

  1. blood capillary

  2. small calorie

C 1

The symbol for the element carbon.

C 2
abbr.

  1. Celsius

  2. centigrade

  3. coulomb

  4. cytosine

  5. large calorie

candle can·dle (kān'dl)
n.
See candela.

circa (sûr'kə)
prep.
Abbr. ca
In approximately; about.

colon co·lon (kō'lən)
n. pl. co·lons or co·la (-lə)
The division of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum.


co·lon'ic (kə-lŏn'ĭk) adj.

coulomb cou·lomb (k&oomacr;'lŏm', -lōm')
n.
Abbr. C
The unit of electrical charge in the meter-kilogram-second system equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second by a steady current of one ampere.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
c  
The symbol for the speed of light in a vacuum.
C  
  1. The symbol for carbon.

  2. Abbreviation of capacitance, capacitor, capacity, Celsius, charge conjugation, coulomb, cytosine

  3. A programming language developed in 1972 and commonly used for writing professional software. With only a small number of built-in functions, it requires less memory than other languages, and because most if its functions are not specific to particular computers, it can be used on many different kinds of machines. The Unix operating system was written in C.


carbon   (kär'bən)  Pronunciation Key 
Symbol C
A naturally abundant, nonmetallic element that occurs in all organic compounds and can be found in all known forms of life. Diamonds and graphite are pure forms, and carbon is a major constituent of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbon generally forms four covalent bonds with other atoms in larger molecules. Atomic number 6; atomic weight 12.011; sublimation point above 3,500°C; boiling point 4,827°C; specific gravity of amorphous carbon 1.8 to 2.1, of diamond 3.15 to 3.53, of graphite 1.9 to 2.3; valence 2, 3, 4. See Periodic Table.

carbonaceous adjective
colon   (kō'lən)  Pronunciation Key 
The longest part of the large intestine, extending from the cecum to the rectum. Water and electrolytes are absorbed, solidified, and prepared for elimination as feces in the colon. The colon also contains bacteria that help in the body's absorption of nutrients from digested material.
Coulomb, Charles Augustin de 1736-1806.  
French physicist who was a pioneer in the study of magnetism and electricity. He is best known for the formulation of Coulomb's law, which he developed as a result of his investigations of Joseph Priestley's work on electrical repulsion. Coulomb also established a law governing the attraction and repulsion of magnetic poles. The coulomb unit of electric charge is named for him.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

C language
A programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie at AT&T Bell Labs ca. 1972 for systems programming on the PDP-11 and immediately used to reimplement Unix.
It was called "C" because many features derived from an earlier compiler named "B". In fact, C was briefly named "NB". B was itself strongly influenced by BCPL. Before Bjarne Stroustrup settled the question by designing C++, there was a humorous debate over whether C's successor should be named "D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL").
C is terse, low-level and permissive. It has a macro preprocessor, cpp.
Partly due to its distribution with Unix, C became immensely popular outside Bell Labs after about 1980 and is now the dominant language in systems and microcomputer applications programming. It has grown popular due to its simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility. C programs are often easily adapted to new environments.
C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain, as "a language that combines all the elegance and power of assembly language with all the readability and maintainability of assembly language".
Ritchie's original C, known as K&R C after Kernighan and Ritchie's book, has been standardised (and simultaneously modified) as ANSI C.
See also ACCU, ae, c68, c386, C-Interp, cxref, dbx, dsp56k-gcc, dsp56165-gcc, gc, GCT, GNU C, GNU superoptimiser, Harvest C, malloc, mpl, Pthreads, ups.
[The Jargon File]
(1996-06-01)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
c
  1. candle

  2. carat

  3. charm quark

  4. circumference

  5. constant

  6. cubic

C
  1. carbon

  2. capacitance

  3. Celsius

  4. center

  5. centigrade

  6. charge

  7. charm

  8. Christian (as in personal ads)

  9. Citigroup Inc.

  10. cloudy

  11. cocaine

  12. complement

  13. conjugation

  14. consonant

  15. coulomb

  16. couple(s) (as in personal ads)

  17. Cuba (international vehicle ID)

  18. cytosine

  19. 100

  20. see (shortwave transmission)

  21. yes (shortwave transmission)

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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