Definitions for: Reference


[n] the act of referring or consulting; "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
[n] the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos"
[n] the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"
[n] a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts; "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"
[n] a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability; "requests for character references are all to often answered evasively"
[n] a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage; "the student's essay failed to list several important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"
[n] a remark that calls attention to something or someone; "she made frequent mention of her promotion"; "there was no mention of it"; "the speaker made several references to his wife"
[n] an indicator that orients you generally; "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"
[n] a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"
[v] refer to



Webster (1913) Definition: Ref"er*ence (r?f"?r-ens), n. [See Refer.]
1. The act of referring, or the state of being referred; as,
reference to a chart for quidance.

2. That which refers to something; a specific direction of
the attention; as, a reference in a text-book.

3. Relation; regard; respect.

Something that hath a reference to my state. --Shak.

4. One who, or that which, is referred to. Specifically;
(a) One of whom inquires can be made as to the integrity,
capacity, and the like, of another.
(b) A work, or a passage in a work, to which one is
referred.

5. (Law)
(a) The act of submitting a matter in dispute to the
judgment of one or more persons for decision.
(b) (Equity) The process of sending any matter, for
inquiry in a cause, to a master or other officer, in
order that he may ascertain facts and report to the
court.

6. Appeal. [R.] ``Make your full reference.'' --Shak.

Reference Bible, a Bible in which brief explanations, and
references to parallel passages, are printed in the margin
of the text.

Synonyms: acknowledgment, book of facts, character, character reference, citation, cite, consultation, credit, denotation, extension, mention, point of reference, quotation, reference book, reference point, reference work, source

See Also: action, allusion, annotation, annual, atlas, bench mark, benchmark, book, book of maps, buoy, comment, compose, cookbook, cookery book, criterion, cross-index, cross-reference, cyclopaedia, cyclopedia, directory, enchiridion, encyclopaedia, encyclopedia, good word, handbook, indicator, indite, instruction book, landmark, lubber line, lubber's line, lubber's mark, lubber's point, map collection, mark, meaning, measure, name-dropping, notation, note, pen, photo credit, publication, recommendation, remark, retrospection, source book, standard, substance, target, testimonial, touchstone, vade mecum, white line, wordbook, write, yearbook

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