aspect

views updated May 29 2018

as·pect / ˈaspekt/ • n. 1. a particular part or feature of something: the financial aspect can be overstressed. ∎  a specific way in which something can be considered: from every aspect, theirs was a changing world. ∎  a particular appearance or quality: a man of decidedly foreign aspect.2. [usu. in sing.] the positioning of a building or thing in a specified direction: a greenhouse with a southern aspect. ∎  the side of a building facing a particular direction: the front aspect of the hotel. ∎  Astrol. a particular position of a planet or other celestial body relative to another, as measured by angular distance: the sun in Aries formed an adverse aspect with Uranus in Capricorn.3. Gram. a grammatical category or form that expresses the way in which time is denoted by the verb: the semantics of tense and aspect.DERIVATIVES: as·pec·tu·al / aˈspekchoōəl/ adj.

ASPECT

views updated May 14 2018

ASPECT. The grammatical category (expressed in verb forms) that refers to a way of looking at the time of a situation: for example, its duration, repetition, completion. Aspect contrasts with TENSE, the category that refers to the time of the situation with respect to some other time: for example, the moment of speaking or writing. There are two aspects in English: the progressive aspect (‘We are eating lunch’) and the perfect aspect (‘We have eaten lunch’).

aspect

views updated May 11 2018

aspect The characteristic that changes the appearance of a graphical output primitive. Typical aspects are color, line width, and line style. Aspects define the property but not how it is bound to an output primitive. See also attribute.

aspect

views updated May 21 2018

aspect XIV. — L. aspectus, f. aspect-, pp. stem of aspicere look at, f. AD- + specere look.

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