record

views updated May 29 2018

rec·ord • n. / ˈrekərd/ 1. a thing constituting a piece of evidence about the past, esp. an account of an act or occurrence kept in writing or some other permanent form: identification was made through dental records a record of meter readings. ∎  (also court rec·ord) Law an official report of the proceedings and judgment in a court. ∎  Comput. a number of related items of information that are handled as a unit.2. the sum of the past achievements or actions of a person or organization; a person or thing's previous conduct or performance: the safety record at the airport the team preserved its unbeaten home record. ∎ short for criminal record.3. (esp. in sports) the best performance or most remarkable event of its kind that has been officially measured and noted: he held the world record for over a decade he managed to beat the record | [as adj.] record profits. 4. a thin plastic disk carrying recorded sound, esp. music, in grooves on each surface, for reproduction by a record player. ∎  a piece or collection of music reproduced on such a disk or on another medium, such as compact disc: my favorite record | [as adj.] a record company. • v. (re·cord) / riˈkôrd/ [tr.] 1. set down in writing or some other permanent form for later reference, esp. officially: they were asked to keep a diary and record everything they ate or drank| [as adj.] (recorded) levels of recorded crime. ∎  state or express publicly or officially; make an official record of: the coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death. ∎  (of an instrument or observer) show or register (a measurement or result): the temperature was the lowest recorded since 1926. ∎  achieve (a certain score or result): they recorded their first win of the season.2. convert (sound or a broadcast) into permanent form for later reproduction: they were recording a guitar recital. ∎  produce (a piece or collection of music or a program) by such means: they go into the studio next week to record their debut album.PHRASES: for the record so that the true facts are recorded or known: for the record, I have never been to the apartment.a matter of record a thing that is established as a fact through being officially recorded.off the record not made as an official or attributable statement.on record1. (also on the record) used in reference to the making of an official or public statement: he seems shadowy because he rarely speaks on the record.2. officially measured and noted: it proved to be one of the warmest Decembers on record.3. recorded on tape and reproduced on a record or another sound medium: the material works far better live than on record.set (or put) the record straight give the true version of events that have been reported incorrectly; correct a misapprehension.DERIVATIVES: re·cord·a·ble / rəˈkôrdəbəl; rē-/ adj.ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French record ‘remembrance,’ from recorder ‘bring to remembrance,’ from Latin recordari ‘remember,’ based on cor, cord- ‘heart.’ The noun was earliest used in law to denote the fact of being written down as evidence. The verb originally meant ‘narrate orally or in writing,’ also ‘repeat so as to commit to memory.’

record

views updated May 11 2018

record
1. A collection of data handled together in transfers to and from peripheral devices. Files held on backing store are frequently treated as sequences of records. The collection of data transferred as a unit is called a physical record. In contrast, the collection of data relating to one subject is then called a logical record. The number of logical records in a physical record is the blocking factor.

2. A data structure in which there are a number of named components, called fields, not necessarily of the same type. It may have variants in which some of the components, known as variant fields, are absent; the particular variant for a given value would be distinguished by a discriminant or tag field. The record is widely recognized as one of the fundamental ways of aggregating data (another being the array) and many programming languages offer direct support for data objects that take the form of records (see structured variable). Such languages permit operations upon an entire record object as well as upon its individual components.

3. Another term for write, used particularly when writing the value of data that may change or disappear.

record

views updated May 14 2018

record (leg.) fact of being committed to writing as evidence XIII; fact of being preserved as knowledge XIV; (leg.) authentic report of proceedings XV; account of a fact in writing, etc. XVI. — (O)F. record remembrance, f. recorder bring to remembrance:- L. recordāre, usu. -ārī think over, be mindful of, f. RE- + cor, cord- HEART; whence vb.
A. †commit to memory XIV; practise (a song, tune) XV;

B. †recall, remember; relate, set down in writing XIV.

So recorder (1) magistrate holding a court of quarter-sessions, orig. lawyer appointed by the mayor and aldermen (of London) to keep in mind proceedings of the court, etc. XV. — AN. recordour, OF. recordeur; see -ER2. recorder (2) wind instrument of the flute kind. XV. f. record vb. in the sense ‘practise a tune’ + -ER1.