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picture

 
Dictionary: pic·ture   (pĭk'chər) pronunciation
 
n.
  1. A visual representation or image painted, drawn, photographed, or otherwise rendered on a flat surface.
  2. A visible image, especially one on a flat surface or screen: the picture reflected in the lake; focused the picture on the movie screen.
    1. A vivid or realistic verbal description: a Shakespearean picture of guilt.
    2. A vivid mental image.
  3. A person or object bearing a marked resemblance to another: She's the picture of her mother.
  4. A person, object, or scene that typifies or embodies an emotion, state of mind, or mood: Your face was the very picture of horror.
  5. The chief circumstances of an event or time; a situation.
  6. A movie.
  7. A tableau vivant.
tr.v., -tured, -tur·ing, -tures.
  1. To make a visible representation of.
  2. To form a mental image of; visualize.
  3. To describe vividly in words; make a verbal picture of: pictured their heroism in glowing language. See synonyms at represent.

[Middle English, from Latin pictūra, from pictus, painted, past participle of pingere, to paint.]


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Wall Street jargon used to request bid and asked prices and quantity information from a specialist or from a dealer regarding a particular security. For example, the question "What's the picture on XYZ?" might be answered, "583⁄8 [best bid] to 3⁄4 [best offer is 583⁄4], 1000 either way [there are both a buyer and a seller for 1000 shares]."

 
Thesaurus: picture
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noun

    One exactly resembling another: double, duplicate, image, portrait, spitting image. Slang ringer. See same/different/compare.

verb

  1. To form mental images of: conceive, envisage, envision, fancy, fantasize, image, imagine, see, think, vision, visualize. Informal feature. See thoughts.
  2. To present a lifelike image of: delineate, depict, describe, express, image, limn, portray, render, represent, show. See show/hide.

 
Idioms: picture
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Idioms beginning with picture:
picture is worth a thousand words, one

In addition to the idiom beginning with picture, also see get the message (picture); in the picture; pretty as a picture; take a picture; the picture.


 
English Folklore: pictures
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The idea that a picture suddenly falling off the wall betokens a death—especially if it is a portrait—has been current since at least the late 17th century, and is still not obsolete. The belief is quite understandable if one accepts that sudden unexplained happenings can be literally ominous and the fact that a portrait can symbolically represent the real person. In some circles, it was regarded as unlucky to hang pictures over a door or a bed. The first mention of this belief is in Igglesden (c.1932: 234) who reports it as a superstition of the theatre.

See also ‘CRYING BOY’ PAINTING.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

  • Opie and Tatem, 1989: 304-5
  • Roud, 2003: 358
 
Devil's Dictionary: picture
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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

A representation in two dimensions of something wearisome in three.

    "Behold great Daubert's picture here on view --
    Taken from Life."  If that description's true,
    Grant, heavenly Powers, that I be taken, too.
                                                             Jali Hane


 
Word Tutor: picture
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A likeness of a person, thing or scene made by drawing, painting, or photography.

pronunciation Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. — Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

 
Translations: Picture
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - billede, skildring, film
v. tr. - skildre, forestille sig

idioms:

  • get the picture    forstå situationen
  • in the picture    inde i billedet
  • out of the picture    ude af billedet
  • picture book    billedbog
  • picture of health    billede på sundhed
  • picture postcard    prospektkort, postkort
  • picture rail    billedliste
  • picture window    panoramavindue

Nederlands (Dutch)
beeld, schilderij, film, foto, toonbeeld, evenbeeld, toestand, plaatje, (mv) bioscoop, beschrijven, zich een voorstelling maken van, afbeelden

Français (French)
n. - peinture, tableau, image, dessin, illustration, (Cin) film, (TV) image
v. tr. - s'imaginer, se représenter

idioms:

  • be a picture    être ravissant
  • get the picture    comprendre la situation
  • in the picture    (être) au courant
  • out of the picture    (ne pas/plus être) au courant
  • picture book    livre d'images
  • picture of health    respirer la santé
  • picture postcard    carte postale
  • picture rail    cimaise
  • picture window    baie vitrée
  • put someone in the picture    mettre/tenir qn au courant

Deutsch (German)
n. - Bild, Vorstellung, Film, Kino
v. - beschreiben, sich vorstellen, abbilden

idioms:

  • be a picture    wunderschön od. (ugs.) ein Gedicht sein
  • get the picture    verstehen, worum es geht
  • in the picture    im Bilde
  • out of the picture    unbeteiligt
  • picture book    Bilderbuch
  • picture of health    kerngesund aussehen
  • picture postcard    Ansichtskarte
  • picture rail    Bilderleiste
  • picture window    Panoramafenster
  • put someone in the picture    jmdn. einweihen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εικόνα, ζωγραφιά, (ζωγραφικός) πίνακας, έργο ζωγραφικής, προσωπογραφία (ιδ. φωτογραφική), προσωποποίηση, (πληθ.) κινηματογράφος, σινεμά
v. - απεικονίζω, ζωγραφίζω, σχηματίζω νοερή εικόνα, συλλαμβάνω με τη φαντασία, φαντάζομαι

idioms:

  • get the picture    κατανοώ, αντιλαμβάνομαι
  • in the picture    είμαι ενήμερος
  • out of the picture    είμαι άσχετος/αδρανής/αμέτοχος
  • picture book    βιβλίο με πλούσια εικονογράφηση
  • picture of health    είμαι η προσωποποίηση της υγείας
  • picture postcard    καρτ ποστάλ
  • picture rail    βέργα τοίχου για κρέμασμα πινάκων
  • picture window    μεγάλο παράθυρο με μονοκόμματο τζάμι

Italiano (Italian)
dipingere, immaginare, immagine, stampa, descrizione, quadro, rappresentazione, foto, film, illustrazione, bellezza

idioms:

  • get the picture    capire
  • in the picture    al corrente, coinvolto, al centro dell'attenzione
  • out of the picture    non al corrente, non coinvolto
  • picture book    libro illustrato
  • picture of health    ritratto della salute
  • picture postcard    cartolina illustrata
  • picture rail    attacca quadri
  • picture window    finestra panoramica

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fotografia (f), pintura (f), quadro (m), cena (f), filme (m)
v. - pintar, retratar, fotografar, descrever, imaginar

idioms:

  • get the picture    entender
  • in the picture    informado, no contexto
  • out of the picture    desinformado, fora do contexto
  • picture book    livro infantil ilustrado
  • picture of health    muito saudável, a saúde em pessoa
  • picture postcard    cartão postal desenhado
  • picture rail    trilho para pendurar quadros
  • picture window    janela ampla com uma bela vista

Русский (Russian)
изобразить, описать, вообразить, изображение, иллюстрация, картинка, описание, фотография, кинофильм

idioms:

  • get the picture    войти в курс дела
  • in the picture    в курсе дела
  • out of the picture    не в курсе дела
  • picture book    книжка с картинками
  • picture of health    олицетворение здоровья
  • picture postcard    открытка
  • picture rail    рейка для подвешивания картины
  • picture window    венецианское окно

Español (Spanish)
n. - imagen, grabado, retrato, descripción, pintura, cuadro, representación, visión, estampa, fotografía, foto, película, filme, cine, lámina, ilustración, precio
v. tr. - describir, pintar, dibujar, retratar, imaginar

idioms:

  • be a picture    ser hermoso, ser una postal
  • get the picture    comprender
  • in the picture    al corriente, al tanto, enterado, informado, de actualidad
  • out of the picture    fuera de lugar, no viene al caso, eliminado
  • picture book    libro ilustrado
  • picture of health    es la salud personificada
  • picture postcard    tarjeta postal
  • picture rail    moldura para colgar cuadros
  • picture window    ventanal
  • put someone in the picture    poner al tanto a uno

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bild, illustration, tavla, målning, kort, foto, framställning, skildring, situation, avbild, film, bio, TV-bild, (vacker) syn
v. - avbilda, framställa, måla, skildra, föreställa sig, ge en bild av

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
画, 照片, 图画, 想像, 描绘, 描述, 拍摄

idioms:

  • get the picture    明白
  • in the picture    熟知一切情况, 有关系
  • out of the picture    不相干
  • picture book    图画书
  • picture of health    很健康
  • picture postcard    风景明信片
  • picture rail    画镜线, 挂镜线
  • picture window    大型落地窗

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 畫, 照片, 圖畫
v. tr. - 想像, 描繪, 描述, 畫, 拍攝

idioms:

  • get the picture    明白
  • in the picture    熟知一切情況, 有關係
  • out of the picture    不相干
  • picture book    圖畫書
  • picture of health    很健康
  • picture postcard    風景明信片
  • picture rail    畫鏡線, 掛鏡線
  • picture window    大型落地窗

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 그림, 사진, 영화 산업
v. tr. - 그리다, 묘사하다

idioms:

  • get the picture    이해하다
  • in the picture    두드러진 존재로, 충분히 알려져

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 絵, 絵画, 肖像, 写真, 映像, 映画, 映画館, 描写, 像
v. - 絵に描く, 描写する, 心に描く

idioms:

  • get the picture    理解する
  • in the picture    現われて, 目立って
  • out of the picture    関係がない, 重要でない
  • picture book    絵本
  • picture of health    健康そのもの
  • picture postcard    絵はがき
  • picture rail    額長押
  • picture window    見晴らし窓
  • put someone in the picture    人に最新情報を知らせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صورة, وصف دقيق, شريط سينمائي, لوحه, مشهد أو شيء جميل (فعل) يصور, يرسم, يتجلى, يتمثل, يتخيل, يتصور‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תמונה, ציור, תצלום, סרט, שלמות, מראה מרהיב, תיאור בע"פ או בכתב, הקרנת סרט, סמל ל-‬
v. tr. - ‮צילם, צייר, תיאר, דמה ל-, דמיין‬


 
Best of the Web: picture
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Some good "picture" pages on the web:


American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
 
Learn More
pinacotheca
moving picture
ritratto

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Financial & Investment Dictionary. Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms. Copyright © 2006 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
English Folklore. A Dictionary of English Folklore. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Devil's Dictionary. Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, 1911  Read more
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