System definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (146)

American Heritage Dictionary (15)

noun A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.
noun A functionally related group of elements, especially:
noun The human body regarded as a functional physiological unit.

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Century Dictionary (121)

Any combination or assemblage of things adjusted as a regular and connected whole; a number of things or parts so connected as to make one complex whole; things connected according to a scheme: as, a system of canals for irrigation; a system of pulleys; a system of railroads; a mountain system; hence, more specifically, a number of heavenly bodies connected together and acting on each other according to certain laws: as, the solar system; the system of Jupiter and his satellites. Who sees with equal eye, as God of all, A hero perish or a sparrow fall, Atoms or systems into ruin hurled, And now a bubble burst, and now a world. Pope, Essay on Man, i. 89. Every work, both of nature and art, is a system; and, as every particular thing, both natural and artificial, is for some use or purpose out of and beyond itself, one may add to what has already been brought into the idea of a system its condnciveness to this one or more ends. Let us instance in a watch. Butler, Analogy. A Natural System is one which attempts to make all the divisions natural, the widest as well as the narrowest, and therefore applies no characters peremptorily. … An Artificial System is one in which the smaller groups (the Genera) are natural, and in which the wider divisions (Classes, Orders) are constructed by the peremptory application of selected Characters (selected, however, so as not to break up the smaller groups). Whewell, Philos. of Inductive Sciences, I. p. xxxii. For a system, in the most proper and philosophic sense of the word, is a complete and absolute whole. H. Bushnell, Nature and the Supernatural, ii. Star and system rolling past. Tennyson, In Memoriam, Conclusion.
A plan or scheme according to which ideas or things are connected into a whole; a regular union of principles or facts forming one entire whole; an assemblage of facts, or of principles and conclusions, scientifically arranged, or disposed according to certain mutual relations so as to form a complete whole; a connected view of all the truths or principles of some department of knowledge or action: as, a system of philosophy; a system of government; a system of education; a system of divinity; a system of botany or of chemistry; a system of railroading: often equivalent to method. There ought to be a system of manners in every nation which a well-formed mind would be disposed to relish. Burke, Rev. in France. In the modern system of war, nations the most wealthy are obliged to have recourse to large loans. A. Hamilton, The Federalist, No. 30. There was no part of the whole system of Government with which they [the Houses of Parliament] had not power to interfere by advice equivalent to command. Macaulay, Sir William Temple. I am deeply convinced that among us all systems, whether religious or political, which rest on a principle of absolutism, must of necessity be, not indeed tyrannical, but feeble and ineffective systems. Gladstone, Might of Right, p. 102.
The scheme of all created things considered as one whole; the universe.

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My ordering the sorties was but a function within the system, and my presence in the system was almost as defiant of rationality as the system itself. — The Divine Wind
Deciding on the infrastructure for a system is as important as defining its classes, objects and workflows. — MSDN Blogs
• While the system will be able to produce performance updates as often as data is entered into the system, it is anticipated that weekly and monthly reports will be made available for internal staff purposes, and quarterly reports will be produced for the City Council and the community. — Recently Uploaded Slideshows
One of the costs for a system is the monitor for sure, the system price mentioned above includes this screen, a SAMSUNG Syncmaster 2493HM 24inch, it has a native resolution of 1920x1200 this screen offers quite low 5ms latency. — OCTools
Inflight activity of the sympathetic nervous system, assessed by measuring catecholamines and their metabolites and precursors in body fluids, generally seems to be no greater than on Earth, but this system is usually activated at landing. — CiteULike: Everyone's library

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Late Latin systēma, systēmat-, from Greek sustēma, from sunistanai, to combine : sun-, syn- + histanai, set up, establish; see stā- in Indo-European roots.

Century Dictionary (1)

Formerly also systeme; = French système = Spanish sistema = Portuguese systema = Italian sistema = Dutch systeem = G. Swedish Danish system, from Late Latin systema, from Greek σύσ, σ1τημα, a whole compounded of several parts, an arrangement, system, from συνισ, σ1τάναι, set together, put together, combine, compound, mid. stand together, from σύν, together, + ἱστάναι, στῆναι, set up, cause to stand: see stand.

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