context

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.
2. n. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To knit together; connect.
2. Knit or woven together; close; firm.
3. n. Texture; specifically, the entire text or connected structure of a discourse or writing.
4. n. . Less properly, the parts of a writing or discourse which precede or follow, and are directly connected with, some other part referred to or quoted.

Wiktionary

1. n. the text in which a word or passage appears and which helps ascertain its meaning
2. n. the surroundings, circumstances, environment, background or settings which determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event
3. n. The surroundings and environment in which an artifact is found and which may provide important clues about the artifact's function and/or cultural meaning.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Knit or woven together; close; firm.
2. n. The part or parts of something written or printed, as of Scripture, which precede or follow a text or quoted sentence, or are so intimately associated with it as to throw light upon its meaning.
3. v. To knit or bind together; to unite closely.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. discourse that surrounds a language unit and helps to determine its interpretation
2. n. the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event