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delete - 5 dictionary results

de⋅lete

  [di-leet]
Use delete in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -let⋅ed, -let⋅ing.
to strike out or remove (something written or printed); cancel; erase; expunge.
Origin:
1485–95; < L dēlētus (ptp. of dēlēre to destroy), equiv. to dēl- destroy + -ē- thematic vowel + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
de⋅let⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
eradicate. See cancel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To delete
de·lete   (dĭ-lēt')   
tr.v.   de·let·ed, de·let·ing, de·letes
To remove by striking out or canceling: deleted some unnecessary words in the first draft. See Synonyms at erase.

[Latin dēlēre, dēlēt-, to wipe out.]
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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Delete

De*lete"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deleted; p. pr. & vb. n. Deleting.] [L. deletus, p. p. of delere to destroy. Cf. 1st Dele.] To blot out; to erase; to expunge; to dele; to omit.

I have, therefore, . . . inserted eleven stanzas which do not appear in Sir Walter Scott's version, and have deleted eight. --Aytoun.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : delete
Spanish: suprimir, tachar,
German: streichen,
Japanese: 削除する
More Translations »

delete 
1495, from L. deletus, pp. of delere "destroy, blot out, efface," from delevi, originally perf. tense of delinere "to daub, erase by smudging," from de- "from, away" + linere "to smear, wipe."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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delete
1. (Or "erase") To make a file inaccessible.
Usually this operation only deletes information from the tables the file system uses to locate named files; the file's contents still exist on disk and can sometimes be recovered by scanning the whole disk for strings which are known to have been in the file. Files created subsequently on the same disk are quite likely to reuse the same blocks and thus overwrite the deleted file's data permanently.
2. The control character with ASCII code 127. Usually entering this character from the keyboard deletes the last character typed from the input buffer. Sadly there is great confusion between operating systems and keyboard manufacturers as to whether this function should be assigned to the delete or backspace key/character.
The choice of code 127 (binary 1111111) is not arbitrary but dates back to the use of paper tape for input. The delete key rewound the tape by one character and punched out all seven holes, thus obliterating whatever character was there before. The tape reading software ignored any delete characters in the input.
(1996-12-01)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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