context

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The current status, condition or mode of a system. See context sensitive help.

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The circumstances surrounding an event, usually the writing or publication of a book. Amongst such circumstances, contemporary political and intellectual debates are often seen as especially important. Knowledge of the context of intellectual production may help to explain what an author was trying to achieve, and the meaning of what was produced, but this is a disputed matter in the study of the history of ideas. ‘Contextualism’ is associated in the United Kingdom with political philosophers in Cambridge (see hermeneutics), while the rival approach of confining oneself to the analysis of the arguments of the text is associated with political philosophers in Oxford. Intelligent discussion of political theory requires both.

— Andrew Reeve

context, those parts of a text preceding and following any particular passage, giving it a meaning fuller or more identifiable than if it were read in isolation. The context of any statement may be understood to comprise immediately neighbouring signs (including punctuation such as quotation marks), or any part of—or the whole of—the remaining text, or the biographical, social, cultural, and historical circumstances in which it is made (including the intended audience or reader). The case of irony shows clearly how the meaning of a statement can be completely reversed by a knowledge of its context. An interpretation of any passage or text that offers to explain it in terms of its context is sometimes said to contextualize it.

Adjective: contextual.

In linguistics, context is the parts of an utterance surrounding a unit and which may affect both its meaning and its grammatical contribution. A context-free grammar is one where the rules apply regardless of context; a context-sensitive grammar is one where this is not so. Context also refers to the wider situation, either of speaker or of the surroundings, that may play a part in determining the signifi-cance of a saying. Sometimes the term co-text is used for the narrow purely linguistic context.

[Ge]

1. A generic term for the smallest identifiable stratigraphic unit recognized in an excavation. Contexts may be positive in the sense of an accumulation or deposit of some kind, or negative where they represent a cut or the removal of something. In single-context excavation all finds, samples, and records are directly linked to the contexts identified during the excavation process.

2. The position of an archaeological find in time and space, established by measuring and assessing its associations, matrix, and provenance. The assessment includes the study of what has happened to the find since it was buried in the ground.

3. The physical and cultural circumstances surrounding the deposition of archaeological material and the formation of archaeological deposits.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The language that precedes and follows a series of words, such as a particular sentence or clause.

The context of a legal document is often scrutinized to shed light upon the intent of an ambiguous or obscure sentence or clause so that it may be interpreted as its drafter intended.

IN BRIEF: n. - Discourse that surrounds a language unit and helps to determine its interpretation; The set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event.

Tutor's tip: You would not understand about this "contest" (a competition) unless you knew the "context" (the conditions or environments that surround an event) in which it developed.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

1. any parts of a piece of writing or speech that precede or follow a specified word or passage and contribute to its full meaning.
2. (in mycology) the layers that develop between the hymenium and the true mycelium in certain fungi.

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See words rhyming with "context."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Context.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - sammenhæng, kontekst, baggrund

idioms:

• in context    i sammenhæng
• out of context    ude af sammenhæng

Nederlands (Dutch)
context, (zins)verband, relevante omstandigheden

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Ling) contexte

idioms:

• in context    dans son contexte
• out of context    hors de son contexte

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kontext

idioms:

• in context    im Zusammenhang
• out of context    zusammenhanglos

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συμφραζόμενα, γενικό/ευρύτερο πλαίσιο

idioms:

• in context    σε σχέση με το / μέσα στο γενικότερο πλαίσιο
• out of context    ξεκομμένα, άσχετα

Italiano (Italian)
contesto

idioms:

• in context    in contesto
• out of context    fuori contesto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - contexto (m)

idioms:

• in context    com relação a isto
• out of context    fora de contexto

Русский (Russian)
контекст

idioms:

• in context    в контексте
• out of context    вне контекста

Español (Spanish)
n. - contexto

idioms:

• in context    según el contexto
• out of context    fuera de contexto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sammanhang, kontext, omgivning, ram

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
上下文, 来龙去脉, 背景, 文章脉络

idioms:

• in context    联系上下文看, 在上下文中
• out of context    脱离上下文

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 上下文, 來龍去脈, 背景, 文章脈絡

idioms:

• in context    聯繫上下文看, 在上下文中
• out of context    脫離上下文

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 문맥, 배경, 상황

idioms:

• in context    문맥을 고려해서

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 文脈, 前後関係, 情況, コンテキスト

idioms:

• in context    関連して
• out of context    意味がつかめない

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سياق أو مجرى الكلام أو الكتابه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הקשר, קונטקסט‬

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