object

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French object, from Medieval Latin obiectum (“object”, literally “thrown against”), from obiectus, perfect passive participle of obiciō (“I throw against”), from ob- (“against”) +‎ iaciō (“I throw”), as a gloss of Ancient Greek ἀντικείμενον (antikeímenon).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (noun)
    • (UK) enPR: ŏb'jĕkt, IPA(key): /ˈɒb.d͡ʒɛkt/
    • (US) enPR: ŏb'jĕkt, IPA(key): /ˈɑb.d͡ʒɛkt/
    • Audio (US)
      		(file)

Noun[edit]

object (plural objects)

  1. A thing that has physical existence.
  2. Objective; goal, end or purpose of something.
    • 1825, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords, Accounts and Papers, page 91:
      Money is an Object to you?
      Money is an Object to me.
      And yet you have taken no Steps to recover your Property from Mr. Dry?
      No, I have no Occasion for it.
    • 1860, Thomas Fenner Curtis, The Progress of Baptist Principles in the Last Hundred Years, page 161:
      And yet it may be proper to show that if time were an object, little, if any thing, would necessarily be gained by sprinkling in place of immersion, where a large number had to be baptized.
    • 1863, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Reports from Committees, page 240:
      […] to secure first-class men you must either hold out a temptation of money, if money is an object to them, or if it is not, then after a certain number of years' service, perhaps, some honour to be bestowed upon them; one or the other, I think, ought to be given to secure the best men that you can.
    • 1877, South Australia. Parliament, Proceedings of the Parliament of South Australia: With Copies of Documents Ordered to be Printed ..., page 29:
      I think, if a captain had plenty of time to spare, and was not going on to any other port, he would prefer going into harbor; but if time were an object with him, and he wished to get away as quickly as possible, he would go to the pier outside.
    • 2000, Phyllis Barkas Goldman & John Grigni, Monkeyshines on Ancient Cultures
      The object of tlachtli was to keep the rubber ball from touching the ground while trying to push it to the opponent's endline.
  4. (grammar) The noun phrase which is an internal complement of a verb phrase or a prepositional phrase. In a verb phrase with a transitive action verb, it is typically the receiver of the action.
  5. A person or thing toward which an emotion is directed.
    Mary Jane had been the object of Peter's affection for years.
    The convertible, once the object of his desire, was now the object of his hatred.
    Where's your object of ridicule now?
  6. (object-oriented programming) An instantiation of a class or structure.
  7. (category theory) An instance of one of the two kinds of entities that form a category, the other kind being the arrows (also called morphisms).
    Similarly, there is a category whose objects are groups and whose arrows are the homomorphisms from one group to another.
  8. (obsolete) Sight; show; appearance; aspect.
    • c. 1610s, George Chapman, Batrachomyomachia
      He, advancing close / Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose / In glorious object.

Synonyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Hyponyms of object (astronomy)
Hyponyms of object (object-oriented programming)

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Verb[edit]

object (third-person singular simple present objects, present participle objecting, simple past and past participle objected)

  1. (intransitive) To disagree with or oppose something or someone; (especially in a Court of Law) to raise an objection.
    I object to the proposal to build a new airport terminal.
    We strongly object to sending her to jail for ten years.
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To offer in opposition as a criminal charge or by way of accusation or reproach; to adduce as an objection or adverse reason.
  3. (transitive, obsolete) To set before or against; to bring into opposition; to oppose.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology[edit]

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French object, from Latin obiectum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɔpˈjɛkt/, /ɔˈbjɛkt/
  • Audio
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: ob‧ject

Noun[edit]

object n (plural objecten, diminutive objectje n)

  1. object, item
  2. (grammar) object

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Afrikaans: objek
  • → Indonesian: objek
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