Get Affordable VMs - excellent virtual server hosting


browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
acme

more about acme

acme

 

  6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Acme  \Ac"me\,  n.  [Gr.  ?  point,  top.] 
  1.  The  top  or  highest  point;  the  culmination. 
 
  The  very  acme  and  pitch  of  life  for  epic  poetry. 
  --Pope. 
 
  The  moment  when  a  certain  power  reaches  the  acme  of 
  its  supremacy.  --I.  Taylor. 
 
  2.  (Med.)  The  crisis  or  height  of  a  disease. 
 
  3.  Mature  age;  full  bloom  of  life.  --B.  Jonson 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  acme 
  n  1:  the  highest  level  or  degree  attainable:  "his  landscapes  were 
  deemed  the  acme  of  beauty";  "the  artist's  gifts  are  at 
  their  acme";  "at  the  height  of  her  career";  "the  peak  of 
  perfection";  "summer  was  at  its  peak";  "...catapulted 
  Einstein  to  the  pinnacle  of  fame";  "the  summit  of  his 
  ambition";  "so  many  highest  superlatives  achieved  by 
  man";  "at  the  top  of  his  profession"  [syn:  {height},  {elevation}, 
  {peak},  {pinnacle},  {summit},  {superlative},  {top}] 
  2:  the  highest  point  of  something  [syn:  {vertex},  {peak},  {apex}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Acme,  LA 
  Zip  code(s):  71316 
  Acme,  PA 
  Zip  code(s):  15610 
  Acme,  WA 
  Zip  code(s):  98220 
  Acme,  WY 
  Zip  code(s):  82839 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  Acme  n.  [from  Greek  `akme',  highest  point  of  perfection  or 
  achievement]  The  canonical  supplier  of  bizarre,  elaborate,  and 
  non-functional  gadgetry  -  where  Rube  Goldberg  and  Heath  Robinson  (two 
  cartoonists  who  specialized  in  elaborate  contraptions)  shop.  The  name  has 
  been  humorously  expanded  as  A  (or  American)  Company  Making  Everything. 
  (In  fact  Acme  was  a  real  brand  sold  from  Sears  Roebuck  catalogs  in  the 
  early  1900s.)  Describing  some  X  as  an  "Acme  X"  either  means  "This  is 
  {insanely  great}",  or  more  likely,  "This  looks  {insanely  great}  on  paper, 
  but  in  practice  it's  really  easy  to  shoot  yourself  in  the  foot  with  it." 
  Compare  {pistol}. 
 
  This  term,  specially  cherished  by  American  hackers  and  explained 
  here  for  the  benefit  of  our  overseas  brethren,  comes  from  the  Warner 
  Brothers'  series  of  Roadrunner"  cartoons.  In  these  cartoons,  the 
  famished  Wile  E.  Coyote  was  forever  attempting  to  catch  up  with  trap, 
  and  eat  the  Roadrunner.  His  attempts  usually  involved  one  or  more 
  high-technology  Rube  Goldberg  devices  -  rocket  jetpacks  catapults, 
  magnetic  traps,  high-powered  slingshots,  etc  These  were  usually 
  delivered  in  large  cardboard  boxes,  labeled  prominently  with  the 
  Acme  name  These  devices  invariably  malfunctioned  in  improbable  and 
  violent  ways. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  ACME 
 
    /ak'mee/  1.  A  Company  that  Makes  Everything. 
  The  {canonical}  imaginary  business.  Possibly  also  derived 
  from  the  word  acme"  meaning  "highest  point". 
 
  2.  A  program  for  {MS-DOS}. 
 
  [What  does  it  do?] 
 
  (1994-11-08) 
 
 
 
  From  V.E.R.A.  --  Virtual  Entity  of  Relevant  Acronyms  13  March  2001  [vera]: 
 
  ACME 
  A  Company  that  Makes  Everything  (slang)




more about acme