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environment

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en⋅vi⋅ron⋅ment

  [en-vahy-ruhn-muhnt, -vahy-ern-]
Use environment in a Sentence
–noun
1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu.
2. Ecology. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.
3. the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.
4. Computers. the hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system: In a time-sharing environment, transactions are processed as they occur.
5. an indoor or outdoor setting that is characterized by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific.
Origin:
1595–1605; environ + -ment

Related forms:
en⋅vi⋅ron⋅men⋅tal, adjective
en⋅vi⋅ron⋅men⋅tal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. locale, environs. Environment, milieu, ambiance, setting, surroundings all refer to what makes up the atmosphere or background against which someone or something is seen. Environment may refer either to actual physical surroundings or to social or cultural background factors: an environment of crime and grinding poverty. Milieu, encountered most often in literary writing, refers to intangible aspects of the environment: an exhilarating milieu of artistic ferment and innovation. Ambiance applies to the atmosphere of the surroundings, their mood or tone: an ambiance of ease and elegance. Setting suggests a background that sets something off: a perfect setting for the emerald. Surroundings alludes specifically to the physical aspects of the environment: awoke in strange surroundings; blend in with her surroundings.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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en·vi·ron·ment   (ěn-vī'rən-mənt, -vī'ərn-)   
n.  

  1. The circumstances or conditions that surround one; surroundings.

  2. The totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms, especially:

    1. The combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms: "We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism" (Paul Brooks).

    2. The complex of social and cultural conditions affecting the nature of an individual or community.

    3. The entire set of conditions under which one operates a computer, as it relates to the hardware, operating platform, or operating system.

    4. An area of a computer's memory used by the operating system and some programs to store certain variables to which they need frequent access.

  3. Computer Science

    1. The entire set of conditions under which one operates a computer, as it relates to the hardware, operating platform, or operating system.

    2. An area of a computer's memory used by the operating system and some programs to store certain variables to which they need frequent access.

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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Word Origin & History

environment 
1603, "state of being environed" (see environs); sense of "nature, conditions in which a person or thing lives" first recorded 1827 (used by Carlyle to render Ger. Umgebung); specialized ecology sense first recorded 1956. Environmentalism was coined 1923 as a psychological term (in the nature vs. nurture debate); the ecological sense is 1972 (environmentalist in this sense is attested from 1970).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: en·vi·ron·ment
Pronunciation: in-'vI-r&n-m&nt, -'vI(-&)rn-
Function: noun
1 : the complex of physical,chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival
2 : theaggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community —en·vi·ron·men·tal /-"vI-r&n-'ment-&l, -"vI(-&)rn-/ adjective —en·vi·ron·men·tal·ly /-&l-E/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

environment en·vi·ron·ment (ěn-vī'rən-mənt, -vī'ərn-)
n.
The totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms, especially the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms.

en·vi'ron·men'tal (-měn'tl) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

environment
environment variable

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