DEFINITION

 Definition is a way of giving or explaining the meaning of

the abstract term or a concept. Coming from the Latin
words, finire(to limit)and de (from),the explanation it
gives limited only to what the reader needs to know about
the term to avoid confusion with other words belonging to
the same class to where the target word belongs.
 Importance of Definition
 It gives the reader a clearer and easier understanding of the concept or idea
enough to encourage him to read continuously till the end of the text.
 It explains ideas or concepts behind various innovations,methods, and
techniques in the field of technology.
 It lessens the gap between technologically experts or “high-tech” people and
“low-tech” people.
 It frees a person from any confusing ,or wrong understanding of a term.
 It helps a company member do his job more efficiently towards a certain
goal.
 It makes any technical written work readable to all kinds of audience of
readers.
Placement of Definition in the Text
 The location of Definition is based on(1)the nature of the
audience or readers;(2)length of the definition;(3)the
purpose and lay out; and (4)the agreed rules and practices in
an area of discipline.If the definition is short;meaning,one or
two sentence long,you should put it in the Footness
Types of Definition 
 1.Informal definition
 This type of definition is also called a parenthetical
definition or an in-text definition.Appearing in the text
in the form of a synonym,a phrase,or a clause,this
informal definition is distinguished or seperated from
other words in the sentence through dash,a colon,a
comma,parenthesis,italics or bold face.
EXAMPLES

 DASH
ROM-Read Only Memory-is a special memory that can be read from but not
written into.
 Parenthesis
A tumor (swelling)signaling the presence of cancer in one’s body is either
malignant or benign.
 Comma
(phrase) A triptych, a painting on three adjacent panels,is displayed at the
lobby.
(clause) Farad, which is unit of electricity capacity,sounds unfamiliar to the
newly hired Electrician.
 2.Formal definition
 The other names given to this type of definition are: Aristotelian
and one sentence logical definition. Defining a term in a formal
manner requires you to:first, mention the term or species to be
defined;second,name the genius ,group or class where such term
belongs;and third,give the differentia to indicate its difference
from other members belonging to the class.All these three
elements;term,genius and differentia should be contained in one
complete sentence,not just in a phrase or a clause.
 Some words are ambiguous or have multiple meanings. For instance, the word cast or has five to ten different meaning such as the
following:
A.CAST- to throw
to discard a card
to assemble data for a horoscope
to register votes,
to give birth to a cow prematurely
undigested matter like bones, fur etc.
actors in a play
a plaster
a tinge of some color
addition of figures
a coil of sand passed by a ringworm
B.BORE-a deep hole made by drilling
a nuisance
the internal cylinder of a gun barrel
an uninteresting person
a high-tidal wave
past tense of the verb bear
to trust the heard forward and down
GUIDELINES IN GIVING A FORMAL OR ONE- SENTENCE LOGICAL DEFINITION;

A. Give one and only one meaning to the term

B. Put the term in a genius or class that is familiar to your audience or readers.
C. Prevent the reader from thinking of many comparable and contrasting features of the term n relation to others by
using a specific class rather than a general class.
D. Use positive words in stating the differentia
E. Avoid giving a bias or subjective definition by basing your explanation on facts or universal truths rather than on
your viewpoints or opinions.
F. See to it that you do not commit any of the following errors in defining.
ERRONEOUS WAYS OF DEFINING A TEAM THROUGH THE FORMAL METHOD
A. Tautology or Circular definition. This sentence definition just repeats the term. A good formal definition does not make the
term appear twice in the sentence.
Examples:
A soldering gun is an iron to solder metal surfaces.
A teacher is one who teaches.
Personality is a word that refers to one’s personal traits
B. Analogy or Figurative definition. In this erroneous definition, instead of giving additional information about the word,you just
compare it to other terms
Examples:
Father is similar to a post of a house
A camera is similar to your eyes when it operates
The mouse of a computer looks like a rat.
C. Negative or no-not definition. This definition simply presents in the sentence the term as the antithesis or the opposite of
another term. Thus language structures like,no,not,neither,none never,afixes signaling negative ideas (-dis,-im,-un,in)and other
exppressions for negating somethingdominantly exist in the text
Example
A stapler is not an envelope opener
A servant is not a boss of a group
D.Is where or is when definition.The use of where and when after the linking verb is does not complement the term .The
where or when has to changed to a word similar in class to target them.
Examples
A university is where one earns a degree to mark an academic achievement.
Enrollment is when a person goes to school and lets the school officials list down his or he name in the school register.
 3.Extended,Expanded or Amplified definition
 As the name amplifies,this type of definition goes beyond the sentential level.It expands into pharagraph-lenght definition
using around three to ten sentences.
 Some ways of expanding or extending a definition of term:
A. Etymology or Word Derivation.The definition gives the origin of the term based on the country that first introduced the
term to the world.By centering its explanation on the country origin of the word,it makes the readers understand how the
word derived its meaning and spelling.For instance these language structures de;meaning from and finire;meaning to limit
are Latin word definition came from.
B. Historical definition.Unlike etymology that focuses on the linguistic origin or background knowlegde of the syllables and
the root of words.Historical definition stresses the historical development of the term,mentioned in thisdefinitions are
people,places,and dates that played significant roles in the existences of the word.
.Example
The 17th century discovery of the Rosetta stone on which the first idea of communication was written.
Egyptian cave in the 17th century as the keeper of the Rosetta stone.
C. Negation or Eliminition.Central to this kind of extended definition are those aspects,elements or propertiesof the term
concept that don’t contribute to the existence of such tem.Because this kind of definition tells what a thing is not,it got
another called elimination.
D. Operating principle.What is stressed in this type of amplified definition is the process involved in the production or
creation of the thing referred to by the term being defined. Zeroing in on the process that consist of events occurring
sequentially, this extended definition use an organizational pattern called chronological order.
E Comparison-contrast.This kind of definition makes you extend your explanation of a concept or a thing by pointing
out how such thing or concept is similar to or different from other concepts.
F. Analysis by Partitioning.Through this expanded definition,a clearer picture of the concept or a thing is given by
examining and explaining the nature,characteristics,and funtion of each component.
G. Use of Examples. What determines the meaning of a term or a concept by means of this type of amplified definition
is how this concept applies to another concept or how one uses it in a certain situation.
H.Explication.At times not all words in the definition sound familiar to readers.In this case the sentence following the
preceding one that uses difficult expressions have the fuction of unlocking the difficulties in the preceding sentence.
I. Operational definition. In giving a concept or a term its operational definiton,you expalin the indispensable function
or use of this thing in the process,project or activity.
J.Stipulative definition. Another way to extend the definiton of term is to explain this word based on a special
condition,a particular purpose,a requirement or a limitation affecting any agreement between or among people.
 4.Combined Definition
 Several types of condition can be used in one paragraph to expand its meaning.But,regardless of the number of
definition used,a paragraph-lenght definition must always begin with a formal or one-sentence logical
definition.First, introduce the term in a sentence definition that exactly specifies its genius or class and its funtion
or purpose .Then extend meaning through the various methods of definition.