composition

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The combining of distinct parts or elements to form a whole.
2. n. The manner in which such parts are combined or related.
3. n. General makeup: the changing composition of the electorate.
4. n. The result or product of composing; a mixture or compound.
5. n. Arrangement of artistic parts so as to form a unified whole.
6. n. The art or act of composing a musical or literary work.
7. n. A work of music, literature, or art, or its structure or organization.
8. n. A short essay, especially one written as an academic exercise.
9. n. Law A settlement whereby the creditors of a debtor about to enter bankruptcy agree, in return for some financial consideration, usually proffered immediately, to the discharge of their respective claims on receipt of payment which is in a lesser amount than that actually owed on the claim.
10. n. Linguistics The formation of compounds from separate words.
11. n. Printing Typesetting.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of composing or compounding, or the state of being composed, compounded, or made up; union of different things or principles into an individual whole; the production of a whole by the union or combination of parts, constituents, or elements.
2. n. Specifically— The act of producing a literary work.
3. n. The art of putting words and sentences together in accordance with the rules of grammar and rhetoric: as, Greek prose composition.
4. n. In printing, the setting of type; type-setting; in a wider sense, the preparation of type for use in the production of printed sheets, including setting, correction of errors, making up, and imposition.
5. n. In philology, the union of two (rarely more than two) independent words to form a single word (called a compound); the formation of a word out of other existing words, as rainbow from rain and bow; and so gentleman, lifelike, fulfil, etc. See compound word, under compound, adjective
6. n. In music, the art of composing music according to scientific rules. Composition is said to be strict when it follows certain recognized rules of musical form, and free when it is more or less independent of such rules.
7. n. In the fine arts, arrangement or grouping of parts, especially harmonious grouping, or that combination of the several parts whereby a subject or an object is agreeably presented to the mind, each part being subordinate to the whole.
8. n. Combination; orderly disposition; regulation.
9. n. Specifically, an act of combination such that the distinctive characters of the parts are modified.
10. n. That which results from composing, as a literary, musical, or artistic production; specifically, a short essay written as a school exercise.
11. n. That which results from the combination or union of several ingredients; a compound: as, type-metal is a composition of lead and antimony.
12. n. Specifically The combination of materials of which printers' inking-rollers are made. The ordinary ingredients are glue and molasses, boiled together in such proportions and to such a degree as to produce an elastic substance of considerable durability. A kind called patent composition is composed chiefly of glue, glycerin, and sugar. Often contracted to compo.
13. n. The manner in which or the stuff of which anything is composed; general constitution or make-up; structure.
14. n. Hence Congruity; consistency.
15. n. The compounding or reconciling of differences, or of different interests; a mutual settlement or agreement; now, specifically, an agreement between a debtor and a creditor by which the latter accepts part of the debt due to him in satisfaction of the whole.
16. n. The sum or rate paid, or agreed to be paid, in compounding with creditors: as, he has agreed to pay a composition of 60 cents on the dollar, or of 12 shillings in the pound.
17. n. In music: The combination of sounds which form a compound stop in an organ.
18. n. A mechanical contrivance for moving the handles of organ-stops in groups.
19. n. The synthetical mode of procedure in investigation or exposition; synthesis.
20. n. In chem., the kind and relative amounts of the components of a compound; commonly, the kind and relative weights of the elements, or the kind and number of the atoms, which makeup the compound. The gravimetric composition states the relative weights of the components; the volumetric composition their relative volumes; the centesimal or percentage composition their percentages; and the atomic composition or the molecular composition, the kind and number of the atoms which make up their molecules. For example, the gravimetric composition of water is 1 part by weight of hydrogen and 7.94 parts by weight of oxygen; the centesimal composition is 11.19 per cent. of hydrogen 'and 88.81 per cent. of oxygen; the volumetric composition is 1 volume of oxygen and 2.0027 volumes of hydrogen; the atomic or molecular composition is 1 atom of oxygen and 2 atoms of hydrogen. The composition belonging to the critical temperature is a critical composition and a solution of such composition a critical solution.

Wiktionary

1. n. law an agreement or compromise by which a creditor or group of creditors accepts partial payment from a debtor.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act or art of composing, or forming a whole or integral, by placing together and uniting different things, parts, or ingredients.
2. n. The invention or combination of the parts of any literary work or discourse, or of a work of art.
3. n. (Fine Arts) The art or practice of so combining the different parts of a work of art as to produce a harmonious whole; also, a work of art considered as such. See 4, below.
4. n. The act of writing for practice in a language, as English, Latin, German, etc.
5. n. (Print.) The setting up of type and arranging it for printing.
6. n. The state of being put together or composed; conjunction; combination; adjustment.
7. n. A mass or body formed by combining two or more substances.
8. n. A literary, musical, or artistic production, especially one showing study and care in arrangement; -- often used of an elementary essay or translation done as an educational exercise.
9. n. obsolete Consistency; accord; congruity.
10. n. Mutual agreement to terms or conditions for the settlement of a difference or controversy; also, the terms or conditions of settlement; agreement.
11. n. (Law) The adjustment of a debt, or avoidance of an obligation, by some form of compensation agreed on between the parties; also, the sum or amount of compensation agreed upon in the adjustment.
12. n. Synthesis as opposed to analysis.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a mixture of ingredients
2. n. the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole
3. n. the way in which someone or something is composed
4. n. a musical work that has been created
5. n. an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
6. n. something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole
7. n. musical creation
8. n. art and technique of printing with movable type
9. n. the act of creating written works