Expression

Ex*pres"sion

(ks*prsh"n), n. [L. expressio: cf. F. expression.] 1. The act of expressing; the act of forcing out by pressure; as, the expression of juices or oils; also, of extorting or eliciting; as, a forcible expression of truth.
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2. The act of declaring or signifying; declaration; utterance; as, an expression of the public will.
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With this tone of philosophy were mingled expressions of sympathy.
Prescott.
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3. Lively or vivid representation of meaning, sentiment, or feeling, etc.; significant and impressive indication, whether by language, appearance, or gesture; that manner or style which gives life and suggestive force to ideas and sentiments; as, he reads with expression; her performance on the piano has expression.
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The imitators of Shakespeare, fixing their attention on his wonderful power of expression, have directed their imitation to this.
M. Arnold.
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4. That which is expressed by a countenance, a posture, a work of art, etc.; look, as indicative of thought or feeling. "The expression of an eye." Tennyson.
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It still wore the majesty of expression so conspicuous in his portraits by the inimitable pencil of Titian.
Prescott.
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5. A form of words in which an idea or sentiment is conveyed; a mode of speech; a phrase; as, a common expression; an odd expression.
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6. (Math.) The representation of any quantity or relation by appropriate characters or symbols, usually in a specific order.
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7. (Genetics) the production of products by a gene that cause the appearance of the corresponding protein or phenotype; -- of a gene or of an organism with a specific gene; as, the expression the beta-galactosidase positive phenotype,
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8. (Computers) a combination of characters linked by operators, occurring as part of the code of a computer program, which must be evaluated according to the rules of the computer language in order to produce a resulting value.
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In most programming languages, (a + b) is an expression indicating simple arithmetic addition, if the variables a and b are real numbers. Many other types of operation may be used in programs, and each set of symbols indicating an operation is an expression in that program.
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Past expression, Beyond expression, beyond the power of description. "Beyond expression bright." Milton.
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Tue 11th December 2018