system

English Online Dictionary. What means system‎? What does system mean?

English

Etymology

Partly borrowed from Middle French sisteme, systeme, partly directly from its etymon Late Latin systēma (“harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects; set of troops; system”), from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “musical scale; organized body; whole made of several parts or members”), from σῠνίστημῐ (sŭnístēmĭ, “to combine, organize”) + -μᾰ (-mă, resultative suffix). σῠνίστημῐ is from σῠν- (sŭn-, “with, together”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”).

Cognate with Dutch systeem, modern French système, German System, Italian sistema, Portuguese sistema, Spanish sistema. Doublet of systema.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĭsʹtəm, IPA^(key): /ˈsɪstəm/
• Rhymes: -ɪstəm
• Hyphenation: sys‧tem

Noun

system (countable and uncountable, plural systems)

1. A group or set of related things that operate together as a complex whole. [from early 17th c.]

   Synonyms: arrangement, complex, composition, organization, set up, structure

   1. (computing) A set of hardware and software operating in a computer.
   2. (mathematics) A set of equations involving the same variables, which are to be solved simultaneously.
   3. (music) A set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments or sounds that are to be played simultaneously.
   4. (physiology) A set of body organs having a particular function.
   6. (multiplicity) A set of alters of a person, or the multiple (“an individual with multiple personalities”) who contains them.

      Synonym: multiple

      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:system.
   7. (astronomy) A system in which two or more objects are bound to each other by gravity.
   8. (philosophy) A comprehensive and logically organized set of propositions or philosophical beliefs.
   10. (derogatory) Preceded by the word the: the mainstream culture, controlled by the elites or government of a state, or a combination of them, seen as oppressive to the individual.

       Meronyms: the man, yes men, elephant in the room, emperor's new clothes
   11. (roleplaying games) A set of rules for a tabletop roleplaying game.
   12. (politics) A socioeconomic formation.

2. (countable, uncountable) A method or way of organizing or planning.

Usage notes

• In attributive use, especially relating to computer systems, the plural is more common than the singular; one normally speaks of a systems engineer and not a system engineer.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: システム (shisutemu)

Translations

See also

• network

References

Further reading

• system on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• stymes

Danish

Etymology

From late Latin systēma, from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “organised whole, body”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “I stand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /systeːm/, [syˈsd̥eːˀm]

Noun

system n (singular definite systemet, plural indefinite systemer)

1. system

Declension

See also

• system on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

References

• “system” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From English system.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sis.tɛm/
• Homophone: système

Noun

system m (plural systems)

1. Word used in star system

Kashubian

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish system. Doublet of systema, a borrowing from German.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsis.tɛm/
• Rhymes: -istɛm
• Syllabification: sys‧tem

Noun

system f

1. Synonym of systema.

Further reading

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “system”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[6]

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma).

Noun

system n (definite singular systemet, indefinite plural system or systemer, definite plural systema or systemene)

1. a system

Derived terms

References

• “system” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma).

Noun

system n (definite singular systemet, indefinite plural system, definite plural systema)

1. a system

Derived terms

References

• “system” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Alternative forms

• systema (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from French système. First attested in 1628.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɘstɛm
• Syllabification: sys‧tem

Noun

system m inan (diminutive systemik, related adjective systemowy)

1. system (collection of organized things; whole composed of relationships among its members)

   Synonym: układ

2. (technology) system (set of devices and tools as a whole)
3. (physiology) system (set of body organs having a particular function)

   Synonym: układ

4. (literary, philosophy) system (comprehensive and logically organized set of propositions or philosophical beliefs)

   Near-synonym: teoria

5. system (method or way of organizing or planning)

   Near-synonym: metoda

6. (government) system (elites or government of a state)

   Synonym: ustrój

7. (mathematics) system (set of equations involving the same variables, which are to be solved simultaneously)
8. (computing) system (set of hardware and software operating in a computer)
9. (geology) formation (layer of rock of common origin)
10. (astronomy) system (planetary system; a set of planets orbiting a star or star system)

    Synonym: układ

11. (obsolete, music) system (set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments or sounds that are to be played simultaneously)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), system is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 62 times in scientific texts, 26 times in news, 76 times in essays, 0 times in fiction, and 1 time in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 165 times, making it the 348th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

Further reading

• system in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• system in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “systema”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “system”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1915), “system”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 6, Warsaw, page 545

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syst.eːm/

Noun

system n

1. a system, a way or method of organizing items and knowledge
2. a computer system (primarily its hardware)
3. a system of restricted sales of alcohol, including state-owned monopoly shops

Declension

Hyponyms

Derived terms

References

• system in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• mysets

Welsh

Alternative forms

• sustem

Etymology

From English system.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈsɨ̞sdɛm/, [ˈsɨ̞stɛm]
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪsdɛm/, [ˈsɪstɛm]

Noun

system f (plural systemau, not mutable)

1. system

   Synonym: cyfundrefn

Usage notes

Being a word borrowed from English derived from Greek, the y in system is pronounced /ɨ̞, ɪ/ rather than expected /ə/. To preserve consistency between pronunciation and spelling, some prefer to spell this word sustem. Nevertheless, system is the more common spelling of the two. See pyramid/puramid, symbol/sumbol, synthesis/sunthesis for similar examples.

Derived terms

• systematig (“systematic”)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “system”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies