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7 dictionary results for: external
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ex·ter·nal       [ik-stur-nl] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.of or pertaining to the outside or outer part; outer: an external surface.
2.Medicine/Medical. to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy: for external use only.
3.situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without: external influences.
4.pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show: external acts of worship.
5.pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries: external affairs; external commerce.
6.Zoology, Anatomy. on the side farthest from the body, the median line, or the center of a radially symmetrical form.
7.Metaphysics. of or pertaining to the world of things, considered as independent of the perceiving mind: external world.
–noun
8.the outside; outer surface; exterior.
9.something that is external.
10.externals, external features, circumstances, etc.; outward appearance; superficialities.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME; see extern, -al1]

ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb

1. outermost, exterior.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ex·ter·nal       (ĭk-stûr'nəl)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Relating to, existing on, or connected with the outside or an outer part; exterior.
  2. Suitable for application to the outside: external paints.
  3. Existing independently of the mind.
  4. Acting or coming from the outside: external pressures.
  5. Of or relating chiefly to outward appearance; superficial: "An internal sense of righteousness dwindles into an external concern for reputation" (A.R. Gurney, Jr.)
  6. Of or relating to foreign affairs or foreign countries: the country's minister of external affairs.

n.  
  1. An exterior part or surface.
  2. externals
    1. Outer circumstances.
    2. Outward appearances: was charming as far as the externals went.


[Middle English, from Latin externus, outward, from exter; see eghs in Indo-European roots.]

ex·ter'nal·ly adv.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
external 
1537 (as extern), from L. externus "outside, outward," from exterus (see exterior). This version won out over exterial.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
external

adjective
1. happening or arising or located outside or beyond some limits or especially surface; "the external auditory canal"; "external pressures" [ant: internal
2. coming from the outside; "extraneous light in the camera spoiled the photograph"; "relying upon an extraneous income"; "disdaining outside pressure groups" 
3. from or between other countries; "external commerce"; "international trade"; "developing nations need outside help" 
4. purely outward or superficial; "external composure"; "an external concern for reputation"- A.R.Gurney,Jr. 

noun
1. outward features; "he enjoyed the solemn externals of religion" 

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

external ex·ter·nal (ĭk-stûr'nəl)
adj.
Abbr. ext.
Relating to, connected with, or existing on the outside; exterior.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

External

Ex*ter"nal\, a. [L. externus, fr. exter, exterus, on the outside, outward. See Exterior.]

1. Outward; exterior; relating to the outside, as of a body; being without; acting from without; -- opposed to internal; as, the external form or surface of a body.

Of all external things, . . . She [Fancy] forms imaginations, aery shapes. --Milton.

2. Outside of or separate from ourselves; (Metaph.) separate from the perceiving mind.

3. Outwardly perceptible; visible; physical or corporeal, as distinguished from mental or moral.

Her virtues graced with external gifts. --Shak.

4. Not intrinsic nor essential; accidental; accompanying; superficial.

The external circumstances are greatly different. --Trench.

5. Foreign; relating to or connected with foreign nations; as, external trade or commerce; the external relations of a state or kingdom.

6. (Anat.) Away from the mesial plane of the body; lateral.

External angles. (Geom.) See under Angle.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

External

Ex*ter"nal\, n. Something external or without; outward part; that which makes a show, rather than that which is intrinsic; visible form; -- usually in the plural.

Adam was then no less glorious in his externals --South.

God in externals could not place content. --Pope.

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