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universe of discourse - 3 dictionary results

u⋅ni⋅verse

[yoo-nuh-vurs]
–noun
1. the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm.
2. the whole world, esp. with reference to humanity: a truth known throughout the universe.
3. a world or sphere in which something exists or prevails: his private universe.
4. Also called universe of discourse. Logic. the aggregate of all the objects, attributes, and relations assumed or implied in a given discussion.
5. Also called universal set. Mathematics. the set of all elements under discussion for a given problem.
6. Statistics. the entire population under study.

Origin:
1325–75; ME < OF univers < L ūniversum, n. use of neut. of ūniversus entire, all, lit., turned into one, equiv. to ūni- uni- + versus (ptp. of vertere to turn)
universe of discourse  
n.   Logic
A class containing all the entities referred to in a discourse or an argument. Also called universe.

universe of discourse ontology
In ontology, the set of all entities that can be represented in some declarative language or other formal system.
Each entity is represented by a name and may have some human-readable description of its meaning. Formal axioms constrain the interpretation and well-formed use of these names.
(2005-07-29)

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