From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Object \Ob"ject\ ([o^]b"j[e^]kt), n. [L. objectus. See {Object},
v. t.]
1. That which is put, or which may be regarded as put, in the
way of some of the senses; something visible or tangible
and persists for an appreciable time; as, he observed an
object in the distance; all the objects in sight; he
touched a strange object in the dark.
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2. Anything which is set, or which may be regarded as set,
before the mind so as to be apprehended or known; that of
which the mind by any of its activities takes cognizance,
whether a thing external in space or a conception formed
by the mind itself; as, an object of knowledge, wonder,
fear, thought, study, etc.
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Object is a term for that about which the knowing
subject is conversant; what the schoolmen have
styled the "materia circa quam." --Sir. W.
Hamilton.
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The object of their bitterest hatred. --Macaulay.
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3. That toward which the mind, or any of its activities, is
directed; that on which the purpose are fixed as the end
of action or effort; that which is sought for; goal; end;
aim; motive; final cause.
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Object, beside its proper signification, came to be
abusively applied to denote motive, end, final cause
. . . . This innovation was probably borrowed from
the French. --Sir. W.
Hamilton.
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Let our object be, our country, our whole country,
and nothing but our country. --D. Webster.
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4. Sight; show; appearance; aspect. [Obs.] --Shak.
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He, advancing close
Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose
In glorious object. --Chapman.
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5. (Gram.) A word, phrase, or clause toward which an action
is directed, or is considered to be directed; as, the
object of a transitive verb.
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6. (Computers) Any set of data that is or can be manipulated
or referenced by a computer program as a single entity; --
the term may be used broadly, to include files, images
(such as icons on the screen), or small data structures.
More narrowly, anything defined as an object within an
object-oriented programming language.
[PJC]
7. (Ontology) Anything which exists and which has attributes;
distinguished from {attributes}, {processes}, and
{relations}.
[PJC]
{Object glass}, the lens, or system of lenses, placed at the
end of a telescope, microscope, etc., which is toward the
object. Its function is to form an image of the object,
which is then viewed by the eyepiece. Called also
{objective} or {objective lens}. See Illust. of
{Microscope}.
{Object lesson}, a lesson in which object teaching is made
use of.
{Object staff}. (Leveling) Same as {Leveling staff}.
{Object teaching}, a method of instruction, in which
illustrative objects are employed, each new word or idea
being accompanied by a representation of that which it
signifies; -- used especially in the kindergarten, for
young children.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Objective \Ob*jec"tive\ ([o^]b*j[e^]k"t[i^]v), a. [Cf. F.
objectif.]
1. Of or pertaining to an object.
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2. (Metaph.) Of or pertaining to an object; contained in, or
having the nature or position of, an object; outward;
external; extrinsic; -- an epithet applied to whatever is
exterior to the mind, or which is simply an object of
thought or feeling, as opposed to being related to
thoughts of feelings, and opposed to {subjective}.
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In the Middle Ages, subject meant substance, and has
this sense in Descartes and Spinoza: sometimes,
also, in Reid. Subjective is used by William of
Occam to denote that which exists independent of
mind; objective, what is formed by the mind. This
shows what is meant by realitas objectiva in
Descartes. Kant and Fichte have inverted the
meanings. Subject, with them, is the mind which
knows; object, that which is known; subjective, the
varying conditions of the knowing mind; objective,
that which is in the constant nature of the thing
known. --Trendelenburg.
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Objective has come to mean that which has
independent existence or authority, apart from our
experience or thought. Thus, moral law is said to
have objective authority, that is, authority
belonging to itself, and not drawn from anything in
our nature. --Calderwood
(Fleming's
Vocabulary).
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3. Hence: Unbiased; unprejudiced; fair; uninfluenced by
personal feelings or personal interests; considering only
the facts of a situation unrelated to the observer; -- of
judgments, opinions, evaluations, conclusions, reasoning
processes.
[PJC]
Objective means that which belongs to, or proceeds
from, the object known, and not from the subject
knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in
opposition to that which is ideal -- what exists in
nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the
thought of the individual. --Sir. W.
Hamilton.
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4. (Gram.) Pertaining to, or designating, the case which
follows a transitive verb or a preposition, being that
case in which the direct object of the verb is placed. See
{Accusative}, n.
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Note: The objective case is frequently used without a
governing word, esp. in designations of time or space,
where a preposition, as at, in, on, etc., may be
supplied.
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My troublous dream [on] this night doth make me
sad. --Shak.
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To write of victories [in or for] next year.
--Hudibras.
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{Objective line} (Perspective), a line drawn on the
geometrical plane which is represented or sought to be
represented.
{Objective plane} (Perspective), any plane in the horizontal
plane that is represented.
{Objective point}, the point or result to which the
operations of an army are directed. By extension, the
point or purpose to which anything, as a journey or an
argument, is directed.
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Syn: {Objective}, {Subjective}.
Usage: Objective is applied to things exterior to the mind,
and objects of its attention; subjective, to the
operations of the mind itself. Hence, an objective
motive is some outward thing awakening desire; a
subjective motive is some internal feeling or
propensity. Objective views are those governed by
outward things; subjective views are produced or
modified by internal feeling. Sir Walter Scott's
poetry is chiefly objective; that of Wordsworth is
eminently subjective.
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In the philosophy of mind, subjective denotes
what is to be referred to the thinking subject,
the ego; objective what belongs to the object of
thought, the non-ego. --Sir. W.
Hamilton
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Objective \Ob*jec"tive\, n.
1. (Gram.) The objective case.
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2. An {object glass}; called also {objective lens}. See under
{Object}, n.
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3. Same as {Objective point}, under {Objective}, a.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
objective
adj 1: undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on
observable phenomena; "an objective appraisal";
"objective evidence" [syn: {objective}, {nonsubjective}]
[ant: {subjective}]
2: serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain
prepositions and used for certain other purposes; "objective
case"; "accusative endings" [syn: {objective}, {accusative}]
3: emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without
distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional
matter, or interpretation; "objective art" [syn: {objective},
{documentary}]
4: belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events;
"objective benefits"; "an objective example"; "there is no
objective evidence of anything of the kind"
n 1: the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to
be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see her
children" [syn: {aim}, {object}, {objective}, {target}]
2: the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope
that is nearest the object being viewed [syn: {objective},
{objective lens}, {object lens}, {object glass}]
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