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composition |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Composition \Com`po*si"tion\, n. [F. composition, fr L. compositio. See {Composite}.] 1. The act or art of composing, or forming a whole or integral, by placing together and uniting different things parts or ingredients. In specific uses: a The invention or combination of the parts of any literary work or discourse, or of a work of art; as the composition of a poem or a piece of music. ``The constant habit of elaborate composition.'' --Macaulay. b (Fine Arts) The art or practice of so combining the different parts of a work of art as to produce a harmonious whole; also a work of art considered as such See 4, below. c The act of writing for practice in a language, as English, Latin, German, etc d (Print.) The setting up of type and arranging it for printing. 2. The state of being put together or composed; conjunction; combination; adjustment. View them in composition with other things --I. Watts. The elementary composition of bodies. --Whewell. 3. A mass or body formed by combining two or more substances; as a chemical composition. A composition that looks . . . like marble. --Addison. 4. A literary, musical, or artistic production, especially one showing study and care in arrangement; -- often used of an elementary essay or translation done as an educational exercise. 5. Consistency; accord; congruity. [Obs.] There is no composition in these news That gives them credit. --Shak. 6. Mutual agreement to terms or conditions for the settlement of a difference or controversy; also the terms or conditions of settlement; agreement. Thus we are agreed: I crave our composition may be written. --Shak. 7. (Law) The adjustment of a debt, or avoidance of an obligation, by some form of compensation agreed on between the parties; also the sum or amount of compensation agreed upon in the adjustment. Compositions for not taking the order of knighthood. --Hallam. Cleared by composition with their creditors. --Blackstone. 8. Synthesis as opposed to analysis. The investigation of difficult things by the method of analysis ought ever to precede the method of composition. --Sir I. Newton. {Composition cloth}, a kind of cloth covered with a preparation making it waterproof. {Composition deed}, an agreement for composition between a debtor and several creditors. {Composition plane} (Crystallog.), the plane by which the two individuals of a twin crystal are united in their reserved positions. {Composition of forces} (Mech.), the finding of a single force (called the resultant) which shall be equal in effect to two or more given forces (called the components) when acting in given directions. --Herbert. {Composition metal}, an alloy resembling brass, which is sometimes used instead of copper for sheathing vessels; -- also called {Muntz metal} and {yellow metal}. {Composition of proportion} (Math.), an arrangement of four proportionals so that the sum of the first and second is to the second as the sum of the third and fourth to the fourth From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: composition n 1: the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole; "harmonious composition is essential in a serious work of art" [syn: {composing}] 2: the way in which someone or something is composed [syn: {constitution}, {makeup}] 3: a mixture of ingredients 4: a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements" [syn: {musical composition}, {opus}, {piece}, {piece of music}] 5: musical creation [syn: {composing}] 6: the act of creating written works "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" [syn: {writing}, {authorship}, {penning}] 7: art and technique of printing with movable type [syn: {typography}] 8: an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition" [syn: {paper}, {report}, {theme}] 9: something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole; "he envied the composition of their faculty" From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: composition 1. {function composition}. 2. {typesetting}. (2000-08-16)
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