extent

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The range, magnitude, or distance over which a thing extends: landowners unaware of the extent of their own holdings.
2. n. The degree to which a thing extends: prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
3. n. An extensive space or area: an extent of desert.
4. n. Law A writ allowing a creditor to assume temporary ownership of a debtor's property.
5. n. Law In Great Britain, a writ allowing a creditor to seize a debtor's property temporarily.
6. n. Law The seizure in execution of such a writ.
7. n. Archaic An assessment or valuation, as of land in Britain, especially for taxation.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The space or degree to which a thing is or may be extended; length; compass; bulk; size; limit: as, the extent of a line; a great extent of country or of body; the utmost extent of one's ability.
2. n. Communication; distribution; bestowal.
3. n. In law: Valuation; specifically, a census or general valuation put upon lands, for the purpose of regulating the proportion of public subsidies or taxes exigible from them, as well as for ascertaining the amount of the casualties due to the superior.
4. n. A peculiar remedy to recover debts of record due to the crown, differing from an ordinary writ of execution at the suit of a subject, in that under it the body, lands, and goods of a debtor may be all taken at once, in order to compel the payment of the debt. It is not usual, however, to seize the body. (Wharton.) Extents, or writs of extent, or writs of extendi facias, are so called because directing the property to be appraised at its full value (extent). They are issued at suit of the crown (extents in chief), or at suit of a private creditor who is himself indebted to the crown (extents in aid). Extents have been used in some of the United States, by which a judgment creditor could have the lands of the debtor valued, and transferred to himself, absolutely or for a term of years, instead of having them sold in satisfaction of the debt.
5. n. Logical extension or breadth.
6. n. A violent attack.
7. Extended.
8. To assess; lay on or apportion, as an assessment.
9. To be assessed; be rated for assessment.
10. n. The length and the breadth (of power, greatness, duty, or the like).

Wiktionary

1. n. A range of values or locations.
2. n. The space, area, volume, etc., to which something extends.
3. n. computing A contiguous area of storage in a file system.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. obsolete Extended.
2. n. Space or degree to which a thing is extended; hence, superficies; compass; bulk; size; length.
3. n. Degree; measure; proportion.
4. n. A peculiar species of execution upon debts due to the crown, under which the lands and goods of the debtor may be seized to secure payment.
5. n. A process of execution by which the lands and goods of a debtor are valued and delivered to the creditor.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the distance or area or volume over which something extends
2. n. the point or degree to which something extends