type
Definitions
General English
General Science
- noun a category with members sharing some properties
- noun a definition of the processes or sorts of data which a variable in a computer can contain, e.g. numbers or text only
Computing
- noun a sort or category of something
- noun printed characters on a page
- verb to enter information via a keyboard
Electronics
- Things which have one or more characteristics in common which enable them as a group to be distinguished from other classes. Also, the traits that differentiate such a type.
- A specific thing which is of a specified type (1).
- A manner of classifying data. The specification of a data type dictates the way a program handles the data. For instance, most applications can not calculate text. Other examples of data types include integers, real numbers, Boolean, and floating point. Also called data type.
- To use a typewriter to write or store characters.
- To use a computer keyboard for data entry.
Human Resources
- verb to key words using a computer keyboard, word processor or typewriter
Information & Library Science
- noun metal characters used for printing
Media Studies
- noun printed words, letters or symbols as they appear on a page
- noun an individual piece of type bearing a single character
- noun the set of small metal blocks used in printing, especially formerly, each of which has a raised figure that is the mirror image of a number or letter on one of its sides
Publishing
- verb to write using a computer keyboard
Origin & History of “type”
The etymological notion underlying the word type is of making an impression by ‘striking’. It comes via Latin typus from Greek túpos ‘blow, impression’, a derivative of túptein ‘hit’. In post-classical Latin the meaning ‘form, sort’ evolved (in much the same way as it did in the case of stamp). The more concrete metaphorical attachment to ‘making a mark by stamping’ had already been made in the classical period, and this eventually led in the 18th century to the use of English type for a ‘printing block with a letter on it’.
