Adjacent Words

Standard definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STANDARD, n. [G., sort, kind.]
1. An ensign of war; a staff with a flag or colors. The troops repair to their standard. The royal standard of Great Britain is a flag, in which the imperial ensigns of England, Scotland and Ireland are quartered with the armorial bearings of Hanover.
His armies, in the following day, on those fair plains their standards proud display.
2. That which is established by sovereign power as a rule or measure by which others are to be adjusted. Thus the Winchester bushel is the standard of measures in Great Britain, and is adopted in the United States as their standard. So of weights and of long measure.
3. That which is established as a rule or model, by the authority of public opinion, or by respectable opinions, or by custom or general consent; as writings which are admitted to be the standard of style and taste. Homers Iliad is the standard of heroic poetry. Demosthenes and Cicero are the standards of oratory. Of modern eloquence, we have an excellent standard in the speeches of lord Chatham. Addisons writings furnish a good standard of pure, chaste and elegant English stayle. It is not an easy thing to erect a standard of taste.
4. In coinage, the proportion of weight of fine metal and alloy established by authority. The coins of England and of the United States are of nearly the same standard.
By the present standard of the coinage, sixty two shillings is coined out of one pound weight of silver.
5. A standing tree or stem; a tree not supported or attached to a wall.
Plant fruit of all sorts and standard, mural, or shrubs which lose their leaf.
6. In ship-building, an inverted knee placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally.
7. In botany, the upper petal or banner of a papilionaceous corol.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind; "windows of standard width"; "standard sizes"; "the standard fixtures"; "standard brands"; "standard operating procedure" [ant: nonstandard]
2: commonly used or supplied; "standard procedure"; "standard car equipment"
3: established or well-known or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence; "a standard reference work"; "the classical argument between free trade and protectionism" [ant: nonstandard]
4: conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers; "standard English" (American); "received standard English is sometimes called the King's English" (British) [syn: standard, received] [ant: nonstandard]
5: regularly and widely used or sold; "a standard size"; "a stock item" [syn: standard, stock] n
1: a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "the schools comply with federal standards"; "they set the measure for all subsequent work" [syn: standard, criterion, measure, touchstone]
2: the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their community" [syn: criterion, standard]
3: a board measure = 1980 board feet
4: the value behind the money in a monetary system [syn: standard, monetary standard]
5: an upright pole or beam (especially one used as a support); "distance was marked by standards every mile"; "lamps supported on standards provided illumination"
6: any distinctive flag [syn: standard, banner]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estandard banner, standard, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English standan to stand and probably to Old High German hart hard Date: 12th century 1. a conspicuous object (as a banner) formerly carried at the top of a pole and used to mark a rallying point especially in battle or to serve as an emblem 2. a. a long narrow tapering flag that is personal to an individual or corporation and bears heraldic devices b. the personal flag of the head of a state or of a member of a royal family c. an organization flag carried by a mounted or motorized military unit d. banner 1 3. something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example ; criterion <quite slow by today's standards> 4. something set up and established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality 5. a. the fineness and legally fixed weight of the metal used in coins b. the basis of value in a monetary system <the gold standard> 6. a structure built for or serving as a base or support 7. a. a shrub or herb grown with an erect main stem so that it forms or resembles a tree b. a fruit tree grafted on a stock that does not induce dwarfing 8. a. the large odd upper petal of a papilionaceous flower (as of the pea) b. one of the three inner usually erect and incurved petals of an iris 9. a musical composition (as a song) that has become a part of the standard repertoire • standardless adjective Synonyms: standard, criterion, gauge, yardstick, touchstone mean a means of determining what a thing should be. standard applies to any definite rule, principle, or measure established by authority <standards of behavior>. criterion may apply to anything used as a test of quality whether formulated as a rule or principle or not <questioned the critic's criteria for excellence>. gauge applies to a means of testing a particular dimension (as thickness, depth, diameter) or figuratively a particular quality or aspect <polls as a gauge of voter dissatisfaction>. yardstick is an informal substitute for criterion that suggests quantity more often than quality <housing construction as a yardstick of economic growth>. touchstone suggests a simple test of the authenticity or value of something intangible <fine service is one touchstone of a first-class restaurant>. II. adjective Date: 1567 1. a. constituting or conforming to a standard especially as established by law or custom <standard weight> b. sound and usable but not of top quality <standard beef> 2. a. regularly and widely used, available, or supplied <standard automobile equipment> b. well-established and very familiar <the standard opera> 3. having recognized and permanent value <a standard reference work> 4. substantially uniform and well established by usage in the speech and writing of the educated and widely recognized as acceptable <standard pronunciation is subject to regional variations> • standardly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 an object or quality or measure serving as a basis or example or principle to which others conform or should conform or by which the accuracy or quality of others is judged (by present-day standards). 2 a the degree of excellence etc. required for a particular purpose (not up to standard). b average quality (of a low standard). 3 the ordinary procedure, or quality or design of a product, without added or novel features. 4 a distinctive flag, esp. the flag of a cavalry regiment as distinct from the colours of an infantry regiment. 5 a an upright support. b an upright water or gas pipe. 6 a a tree or shrub that stands alone without support. b a shrub grafted on an upright stem and trained in tree form (standard rose). 7 a document specifying nationally or internationally agreed properties for manufactured goods etc. (British Standard). 8 a thing recognized as a model for imitation etc. 9 a tune or song of established popularity. 10 a a system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms of gold or silver or both. b the prescribed proportion of the weight of fine metal in gold or silver coins. 11 a measure for timber, equivalent to 165 cu. ft. (4.7 cubic metres). 12 Brit. hist. a grade of classification in elementary schools. --adj. 1 serving or used as a standard (a standard size). 2 of a normal or prescribed quality or size etc. 3 having recognized and permanent value; authoritative (the standard book on the subject). 4 (of language) conforming to established educated usage (Standard English). Phrases and idioms: multiple standard a standard of value obtained by averaging the prices of a number of products. raise a standard take up arms; rally support (raised the standard of revolt). standard-bearer 1 a soldier who carries a standard. 2 a prominent leader in a cause. standard deviation see DEVIATION. standard lamp Brit. a lamp set on a tall upright with its base standing on the floor. standard of living the degree of material comfort available to a person or class or community. standard time a uniform time for places in approximately the same longitude, established in a country or region by law or custom. Etymology: ME f. AF estaundart, OF estendart f. estendre, as EXTEND: in senses 5 and 6 of n. affected by association with STAND

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sheth Sheth, n. The part of a plow which projects downward beneath the beam, for holding the share and other working parts; -- also called standard, or post.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Standard Stand"ard, n. [OF. estendart, F. ['e]tendard, probably fr. L. extendere to spread out, extend, but influenced by E. stand. See Extend.] 1. A flag; colors; a banner; especially, a national or other ensign. His armies, in the following day, On those fair plains their standards proud display. --Fairfax. 2. That which is established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, extent, value, or quality; esp., the original specimen weight or measure sanctioned by government, as the standard pound, gallon, or yard. 3. That which is established as a rule or model by authority, custom, or general consent; criterion; test. The court, which used to be the standard of property and correctness of speech. --Swift. A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. --Burke. 4. (Coinage) The proportion of weights of fine metal and alloy established by authority. By the present standard of the coinage, sixty-two shillings is coined out of one pound weight of silver. --Arbuthnot. 5. (Hort.) A tree of natural size supported by its own stem, and not dwarfed by grafting on the stock of a smaller species nor trained upon a wall or trellis. In France part of their gardens is laid out for flowers, others for fruits; some standards, some against walls. --Sir W. Temple. 6. (Bot.) The upper petal or banner of a papilionaceous corolla. 7. (Mech. & Carp.) An upright support, as one of the poles of a scaffold; any upright in framing. 8. (Shipbuilding) An inverted knee timber placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally. 9. The sheth of a plow. 10. A large drinking cup. --Greene. Standard bearer, an officer of an army, company, or troop, who bears a standard; -- commonly called color sergeantor color bearer; hence, the leader of any organization; as, the standard bearer of a political party.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Standard Stand"ard, a. 1. Being, affording, or according with, a standard for comparison and judgment; as, standard time; standard weights and measures; a standard authority as to nautical terms; standard gold or silver. 2. Hence: Having a recognized and permanent value; as, standard works in history; standard authors. 3. (Hort.) (a) Not supported by, or fastened to, a wall; as, standard fruit trees. (b) Not of the dwarf kind; as, a standard pear tree. Standard candle, Standard gauge. See under Candle, and Gauge. Standard solution. (Chem.) See Standardized solution, under Solution.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(standards) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A standard is a level of quality or achievement, especially a level that is thought to be acceptable. The standard of professional cricket has never been lower... There will be new national standards for hospital cleanliness. N-COUNT: with supp 2. A standard is something that you use in order to judge the quality of something else. ...systems that were by later standards absurdly primitive. N-COUNT: with supp 3. Standards are moral principles which affect people's attitudes and behaviour. My father has always had high moral standards. N-PLURAL: usu with supp see also double standard 4. You use standard to describe things which are usual and normal. It was standard practice for untrained clerks to advise in serious cases such as murder... ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. A standard work or text on a particular subject is one that is widely read and often recommended. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Ensign, banner, flag, streamer, pennon, colors. 2. Criterion, rule, model, test, type. 3. Gauge, model, measure, scale. 4. Support, upright. 5. (Bot.) Vexillum.

Moby Thesaurus

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