What is "type"

Type \Type\, n. [F. type; cf. It. tipo, from L. typus a figure, image, a form, type, character, Gr. ? the mark of a blow, impression, form of character, model, from the root of ? to beat, strike; cf. Skr. tup to hurt.]

1. The mark or impression of something; stamp; impressed sign; emblem.

   The faith they have in tennis, and tall stockings, Short blistered breeches, and those types of travel.
   --Shak.

2. Form or character impressed; style; semblance.

   Thy father bears the type of king of Naples.
   --Shak.

3. A figure or representation of something to come; a token; a sign; a symbol; -- correlative to antitype.

   A type is no longer a type when the thing typified comes to be actually exhibited.
   --South.

4. That which possesses or exemplifies characteristic qualities; the representative. Specifically:

   1. (Biol.) A general form or structure common to a number of individuals; hence, the ideal representation of a species, genus, or other group, combining the essential characteristics; an animal or plant possessing or exemplifying the essential characteristics of a species, genus, or other group. Also, a group or division of animals having a certain typical or characteristic structure of body maintained within the group.

      Since the time of Cuvier and Baer . . . the whole animal kingdom has been universally held to be divisible into a small number of main divisions or types.
      --Haeckel.

   2. (Fine Arts) The original object, or class of objects, scene, face, or conception, which becomes the subject of a copy; esp., the design on the face of a medal or a coin.

   3. (Chem.) A simple compound, used as a mode or pattern to which other compounds are conveniently regarded as being related, and from which they may be actually or theoretically derived.

      Note: The fundamental types used to express the simplest and most essential chemical relations are hydrochloric acid, HCl; water, H2O; ammonia, NH3; and methane, CH4.

5. (Typog.)

   1. A raised letter, figure, accent, or other character, cast in metal or cut in wood, used in printing.

   2. Such letters or characters, in general, or the whole quantity of them used in printing, spoken of collectively; any number or mass of such letters or characters, however disposed.

      Note: Type are mostly made by casting type metal in a mold, though some of the larger sizes are made from maple, mahogany, or boxwood. In the cut, a is the body; b, the face, or part from which the impression is taken; c, the shoulder, or top of the body; d, the nick (sometimes two or more are made), designed to assist the compositor in distinguishing the bottom of the face from t`e top; e, the groove made in the process of finishing, -- each type as cast having attached to the bottom of the body a jet, or small piece of metal (formed by the surplus metal poured into the mold), which, when broken off, leaves a roughness that requires to be removed. The fine lines at the top and bottom of a letter are technically called ceriphs, and when part of the face projects over the body, as in the letter f, the projection is called a kern. [1913 Webster] The type which compose an ordinary book font consist of Roman CAPITALS, small capitals, and lower-case letters, and Italic CAPITALS and lower-case letters, with accompanying figures, points, and reference marks, -- in all about two hundred characters. Including the various modern styles of fancy type, some three or four hundred varieties of face are made. Besides the ordinary Roman and Italic, some of the most important of the varieties are [1913 Webster] Old English. Black Letter. Old Style. French Elzevir. Boldface. Antique. Clarendon. Gothic. Typewriter. Script. [1913 Webster] The smallest body in common use is diamond; then follow in order of size, pearl, agate, nonpareil, minion, brevier, bourgeois (or two-line diamond), long primer (or two-line pearl), small pica (or two-line agate), pica (or two-line nonpareil), English (or two-line minion), Columbian (or two-line brevier), great primer (two-line bourgeois), paragon (or two-line long primer), double small pica (or two-line small pica), double pica (or two-line pica), double English (or two-line English), double great primer (or two-line great primer), double paragon (or two-line paragon), canon (or two-line double pica). Above this, the sizes are called five-line pica, six-line pica, seven-line pica, and so on, being made mostly of wood. The following alphabets show the different sizes up to great primer. [1913 Webster] Brilliant . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Diamond . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Pearl . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Agate . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Nonpareil . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Minion . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Brevier . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Bourgeois . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Long primer . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Small pica . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Pica . . . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz English . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Columbian . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Great primer . . . abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz [1913 Webster] The foregoing account is conformed to the designations made use of by American type founders, but is substantially correct for England. Agate, however, is called ruby, in England, where, also, a size intermediate between nonpareil and minion is employed, called emerald.

      Point system of type bodies (Type Founding), a system adopted by the type founders of the United States by which the various sizes of type have been so modified and changed that each size bears an exact proportional relation to every other size. The system is a modification of a French system, and is based on the pica body. This pica body is divided into twelfths, which are termed ``points,'' and every type body consist of a given number of these points. Many of the type founders indicate the new sizes of type by the number of points, and the old names are gradually being done away with. By the point system type founders cast type of a uniform size and height, whereas formerly fonts of pica or other type made by different founders would often vary slightly so that they could not be used together. There are no type in actual use corresponding to the smaller theoretical sizes of the point system. In some cases, as in that of ruby, the term used designates a different size from that heretofore so called. [1913 Webster] 1 American 9 Bourgeois [bar] [bar] 11/2 German [bar] 2 Saxon 10 Long Primer [bar] [bar] 21/2 Norse [bar] 3 Brilliant 11 Small Pica [bar] [bar] 31/2 Ruby 12 Pica [bar] [bar] 4 Excelsior [bar] 41/2 Diamond 14 English [bar] [bar] 5 Pearl 16 Columbian [bar] [bar] 51/2 Agate [bar] 6 Nonpareil 18 Great Primer [bar] [bar] 7 Minion [bar] 8 Brevier 20 Paragon [bar] [bar] Diagram of the "points" by which sizes of Type are graduated in the "Point System".

      Type founder, one who casts or manufacture type.

      Type foundry, Type foundery, a place for the manufacture of type.

      Type metal, an alloy used in making type, stereotype plates, etc., and in backing up electrotype plates. It consists essentially of lead and antimony, often with a little tin, nickel, or copper.

      Type wheel, a wheel having raised letters or characters on its periphery, and used in typewriters, printing telegraphs, etc.

      Unity of type (Biol.), that fundamental agreement in structure which is seen in organic beings of the same class, and is quite independent of their habits of life.
      --Darwin.

Type \Type\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Typed; p. pr. & vb. n. Typing.]

1. To represent by a type, model, or symbol beforehand; to prefigure. [R.]
   --White (Johnson).

2. To furnish an expression or copy of; to represent; to typify. [R.]

   Let us type them now in our own lives.
   --Tennyson.

late 15c., "symbol, emblem," from Latin typus "figure, image, form, kind," from Greek typos "a blow, dent, impression, mark, effect of a blow; figure in relief, image, statue; anything wrought of metal or stone; general form, character; outline, sketch," from root of typtein "to strike, beat," from PIE *tup-, variant of root *(s)teu- (1) "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)).\n

\nExtended 1713 to printing blocks with letters carved on them in relief. The meaning "general form or character of some kind, class" is attested in English from 1843, though it had that sense in Latin and Greek. To be (someone's) type "be the sort of person that person is attracted to" is recorded from 1934.

"to write with a typewriter," 1888; see type (n.). Earlier it meant "to symbolize, typify" (1836) and "to foreshadow" (1590s). Related: Typed; typing.

n. A grouping based on shared characteristics; a class. vb. 1 To put text on paper using a typewriter. 2 To enter text or commands into a computer using a keyboard. 3 To determine the blood type of. 4 To represent by a type, model, or symbol beforehand; to prefigure. 5 To furnish an expression or copy of; to represent; to typify.

1. n. a subdivision of a particular kind of thing; "what type of sculpture do you prefer?" [ant: antitype]

2. a person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities); "a real character"; "a strange character"; "a friendly eccentric"; "the capable type"; "a mental case" [syn: character, eccentric, case]

3. (biology) the taxonomic group whose characteristics are used to define the next higher taxon

4. printed characters; "small type is hard to read"

5. a small metal block bearing a raised character on one end; produces a printed character when inked and pressed on paper; "he dropped a case of type, so they made him pick them up"

6. all of the tokens of the same symbol; "the word `element' contains five different types of character"

1. v. write by means of a keyboard with types; "type the acceptance letter, please" [syn: typewrite]

2. identify as belonging to a certain type; "Such people can practically be typed" [syn: typecast]

Type may refer to:

In philosophy:

• Type (metaphysics), a concept in the type–token distinction

In theology:

• Type & Antitype in Typology (theology)

In mathematics:

• Type (model theory)
• Type theory, basis for the study of type systems
• Type or arity, the number of operands a function takes
• Type, any proposition or set in the intuitionistic type theory
• The type of an entire function, see also exponential type

In computing:

• Typing, producing text via a keyboard
• Data type, collection of values used for computations
• TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file
• Type (Unix), a command in POSIX shells that gives information about commands
• Type safety, the extent to which a programming language discourages or prevents type errors
• Type system, defines a programming language's response to data types

In sociology:

• Ideal type
• Normal type
• Typification

Other:

• Type (song), a 1990 song by the band Living Colour
• Type (designation), a model numbering system used for vehicles or military equipment
• Typeface, used in typesetting
  • Sort (typesetting), cast metal type for printing
  • Type Museum, museum about the above
• Architectural type, classification of architecture by functional types (houses, institutions), morphological types or historical types Architectural style subcategories
• Dog type, categorization by use or function of domestic dogs
• Type (biology), which fixes a scientific name to a taxon

"Type" is the first single from Living Colour's second album Time's Up released in 1990.

In Unix, type is a command that describes how its arguments would be interpreted if used as command names.

The word Type followed by a number is a common way to name a weapon or product in a production series, similar in meaning to " Mark". "Type" was used extensively by the Japanese and Chinese militaries beginning in the 1920s, and is still in current use by the militaries of both nations. The United Kingdom uses a type number system for much of their military equipment. Many other nations use the word "Type" to designate products in a series.

In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralize the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage (pre-1900 in botany), a type was a taxon rather than a specimen.

A taxon is a scientifically named grouping of organisms with other like organisms, a set that includes some organisms and excludes others, based on a detailed published description (for example a species description) and on the provision of type material, which is usually available to scientists for examination in a major museum research collection, or similar institution.

In model theory and related areas of mathematics, a type is an object that, loosely speaking, describes how a (real or possible) element or elements in a mathematical structure might behave. More precisely, it is a set of first-order formulas in a language L with free variables x, x,…, x which are true of a sequence of elements of an L-structure M. Depending on the context, types can be complete or partial and they may use a fixed set of constants, A, from the structure M. The question of which types represent actual elements of M leads to the ideas of saturated models and omitting types.

In computing, type is a command in various RT-11, VMS, AmigaDOS, CP/M, DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows command line interpreters ( shells) such as [[COMMAND.COM]], [[cmd.exe]], 4DOS/ 4NT and Windows PowerShell. It is used to display the contents of specified files.

The analogous Unix command is [[Cat (Unix)|cat]]. In Windows PowerShell, type is a predefined command alias for the Get-Content Cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose. TYPE originated as an internal command in 86-DOS.