7  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Macro-  \Mac"ro-\  [Gr.  makro`s,  adj.] 
  A  combining  form  signifying  long,  large  great;  as 
  macrodiagonal,  macrospore. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  macro 
  adj  :  (combining  form)  very  large  in  scale  or  scope  or  capability; 
  "`macro'  in  the  word  `macroscopic'  is  a  combining  form" 
  n  :  a  single  computer  instruction  that  results  in  a  series  of 
  instructions  in  machine  language 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  macro-  pref.  Large  Opposite  of  {micro-}.  In  the  mainstream 
  and  among  other  technical  cultures  (for  example,  medical  people)  this 
  competes  with  the  prefix  {mega-},  but  hackers  tend  to  restrict  the  latter 
  to  quantification. 
 
 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  macro  /mak'roh/  n.  [techspeak]  A  name  (possibly  followed  by  a 
  formal  {arg}  list)  that  is  equated  to  a  text  or  symbolic  expression  to 
  which  it  is  to  be  expanded  (possibly  with  the  substitution  of  actual 
  arguments)  by  a  macro  expander.  This  definition  can  be  found  in  any 
  technical  dictionary  what  those  won't  tell  you  is  how  the  hackish 
  connotations  of  the  term  have  changed  over  time. 
 
  The  term  `macro'  originated  in  early  assemblers,  which  encouraged 
  the  use  of  macros  as  a  structuring  and  information-hiding  device.  During 
  the  early  1970s,  macro  assemblers  became  ubiquitous,  and  sometimes  quite 
  as  powerful  and  expensive  as  {HLL}s,  only  to  fall  from  favor  as  improving 
  compiler  technology  marginalized  assembler  programming  (see  {languages 
  of  choice}).  Nowadays  the  term  is  most  often  used  in  connection  with  the 
  C  preprocessor,  LISP,  or  one  of  several  special-purpose  languages  built 
  around  a  macro-expansion  facility  (such  as  TeX  or  Unix's  [nt]roff  suite). 
 
  Indeed,  the  meaning  has  drifted  enough  that  the  collective 
  `macros'  is  now  sometimes  used  for  code  in  any  special-purpose  application 
  control  language  (whether  or  not  the  language  is  actually  translated 
  by  text  expansion),  and  for  macro-like  entities  such  as  the  `keyboard 
  macros'  supported  in  some  text  editors  (and  PC  TSR  or  Macintosh  INIT/CDEV 
  keyboard  enhancers). 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  macro- 
 
  Prefix  large  Opposite  of  {micro-}.  In  the  mainstream  and 
  among  other  technical  cultures  (for  example,  medical  people) 
  this  competes  with  the  prefix  {mega-},  but  hackers  tend  to 
  restrict  the  latter  to  quantification. 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  MACRO 
 
  1.  Assembly  language  for  {VAX/VMS}. 
 
  2.  {PL/I}-like  language  with  extensions  for  string  processing. 
  "MACRO:  A  Programming  Language",  S.R.  Greenwood,  SIGPLAN 
  Notices  14(9):80-91  (Sep  1979). 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  macro 
 
  A  name  (possibly  followed  by  a  {formal  argument}  list)  that  is 
  equated  to  a  text  or  symbolic  expression  to  which  it  is  to  be 
  expanded  (possibly  with  the  substitution  of  {actual 
  arguments})  by  a  macro  expander. 
 
  The  term  macro"  originated  in  early  {assembler}s,  which 
  encouraged  the  use  of  macros  as  a  structuring  and 
  information-hiding  device.  During  the  early  1970s,  macro 
  assemblers  became  ubiquitous,  and  sometimes  quite  as  powerful 
  and  expensive  as  {HLL}s,  only  to  fall  from  favour  as  improving 
  {compiler}  technology  marginalised  {assembly  language} 
  programming  (see  {languages  of  choice}).  Nowadays  the  term  is 
  most  often  used  in  connection  with  the  {C  preprocessor}, 
  {Lisp},  or  one  of  several  special-purpose  languages  built 
  around  a  macro-expansion  facility  (such  as  {TeX}  or  {Unix}'s 
  {troff}  suite). 
 
  Indeed,  the  meaning  has  drifted  enough  that  the  collective 
  macros"  is  now  sometimes  used  for  code  in  any  special-purpose 
  application  control  language  (whether  or  not  the  language  is 
  actually  translated  by  text  expansion),  and  for  macro-like 
  entities  such  as  the  "keyboard  macros"  supported  in  some  text 
  editors  (and  {PC}  {TSR}s  or  {Macintosh}  INIT/CDEV  keyboard 
  enhancers). 
 
  (1994-12-06) 
 
 

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