[men-yoo, mey-nyoo] 
| 1. | a list of the dishes served at a meal; bill of fare: Ask the waiter for a menu. |
| 2. | the dishes served. |
| 3. | any list or set of items, activities, etc., from which to choose: What's on the menu this weekend—golf, tennis, swimming? |
| 4. | Computers. a list of options available to a user, as displayed on a CRT or other type of screen. |
| men·u (měn'yōō) n.
[French, small, minute, menu, from Old French menut, small, from Latin minūtus, past participle of minuere, to diminish; see mei-2 in Indo-European roots.] Word History: An enormous menu might be considered an oxymoron if one were to restrict the word etymologically. Menu can be traced back to the Latin word minūtus, meaning "small in size, amount, or degree" and also "possessing or involving minute knowledge." Latin minūtus became Old French menut and Modern French menu, "small, fine, trifling, minute." The French adjective came to be used as a noun with the sense of "detail, details collectively," and "detailed list." As such, it was used in the phrase menu de repas, "list of items of a meal," which was shortened to menu. This word was borrowed into English, being first recorded in 1837. The French word had been borrowed before, perhaps only briefly, as a shortening of the French phrase menu peuple, "the common people." This usage, however, is recorded in only one text, in 1658. |
menu operating system
A list from which the user may select an operation to be performed. This is often done with a mouse or other pointing device under a graphical user interface but may also be controlled from the keyboard.
Menus are very convenient for beginners because they show what commands are available and make experimentating with a new program easy, often reducing the need for user documentation. Experienced users however, often prefer keyboard commands, especially for frequently user operations, because they are faster to use. In situations such as text entry where the keyboard must be used anyway, having to move your hand to the mouse to invoke a menu operation is slow.
There are many different ways of presenting menus but the most common are the menu bar (with pull-down menus) and the context-sensitive menu.
The term "menu" tends to be reserved for a list of actions or global options, whereas a "list box" or other graphical widget might present any kind of choice.
See also menuitis.
(1994-12-02)
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