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Definition(s) of “C”
c
abbreviation
• cent(s).
• [in combination ] (in units of measurement) centi- : centistokes (cS).
• ( c.) century or centuries : a watch case, 19th c.
• (preceding a date or amount) circa; approximately : Isabella was born c 1759.
• (of water) cold : all cabins have h & c.
• colt.
symbol Physics
the speed of light in a vacuum : E = mc 2.
C 1 |sē| (also c)
noun ( pl. Cs or C's )
1 the third letter of the alphabet.
• denoting the third in a set of items, categories, sizes, etc.
• denoting the third of three or more hypothetical people or things.
• the third highest class of academic grades.
• ( c) Chess denoting the third file from the left of a chessboard, as viewed from White's side of the board.
• (usu. c) the third fixed constant to appear in an algebraic expression, or a known constant.
• denoting the lowest soil horizon, comprising parent materials.
2 a shape like that of a letter C : [in combination ] C-springs.
3 (usu. C) Music the first note of the diatonic scale of C major, the major scale having no sharps or flats.
• a key based on a scale with C as its keynote.
4 the Roman numeral for 100. [ORIGIN: abbreviation of Latin centum ‘hundred.’ ]
5 ( C) a high-level computer programming language originally developed for implementing the UNIX operating system. [ORIGIN: formerly known as B, abbreviation of BCPL.]
C 2
abbreviation
• ( C.) Cape (chiefly on maps) : C. Hatteras.
• Celsius or centigrade: : it was 29°C at noon.
• ( ©) copyright.
• (in personal ads) Christian.
• a 1.5 volt dry cell battery size.
• Physics coulomb(s).
symbol
• Physics capacitance.
• the chemical element carbon.
PHRASES
the Big C informal cancer.
capacitance |kəˈpasitəns|
noun Physics
the ability of a system to store an electric charge.
• the ratio of the change in an electric charge in a system to the corresponding change in its electric potential. (Symbol: C)
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from capacity + -ance .
carbon |ˈkärbən|
noun
the chemical element of atomic number 6, a nonmetal that has two main forms (diamond and graphite) and that also occurs in impure form in charcoal, soot, and coal. (Symbol: C)
• Chemistry an atom of this element.
• a rod of carbon in an arc light.
• a piece of carbon paper or a carbon copy.
Compounds of carbon (organic compounds) form the physical basis of all living organisms. Carbon atoms are able to link with each other and with other atoms to form chains and rings, and an infinite variety of carbon compounds exist.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from French carbone, from Latin carbo, carbon- ‘coal, charcoal.’
Celsius 2 (abbr.: C)
adjective [ postpositive when used with a numeral]
of or denoting a scale of temperature on which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100° under standard conditions.
noun (also Celsius scale)
this scale of temperature.
USAGE Celsius, rather than centigrade, is the standard accepted term when giving temperatures: use : 25° Celsius rather than : 25° centigrade .
coulomb |ˈkoōˌläm; -ˌlōm| (abbr.: C)
noun Physics
the SI unit of electric charge, equal to the quantity of electricity conveyed in one second by a current of one ampere.
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806), French military engineer.