Information

Information
Information In`for*ma"tion, n. [F., fr. L. informatio representation, conception. See {Inform}, v. t.] 1. The act of informing, or communicating knowledge or intelligence. [1913 Webster]

The active informations of the intellect. --South. [1913 Webster]

2. Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice, whether communicated by others or obtained by personal study and investigation; any datum that reduces uncertainty about the state of any part of the world; intelligence; knowledge derived from reading, observation, or instruction. [1913 Webster +PJC]

Larger opportunities of information. --Rogers. [1913 Webster]

He should get some information in the subject he intends to handle. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

3. (Law) A proceeding in the nature of a prosecution for some offense against the government, instituted and prosecuted, really or nominally, by some authorized public officer on behalf of the government. It differs from an indictment in criminal cases chiefly in not being based on the finding of a grand jury. See {Indictment}. [1913 Webster]

4. (Information Theory) A measure of the number of possible choices of messages contained in a symbol, signal, transmitted message, or other information-bearing object; it is usually quantified as the negative logarithm of the number of allowed symbols that could be contained in the message; for logarithms to the base 2, the measure corresponds to the unit of information, the hartley, which is log210, or 3.323 bits; called also {information content}. The smallest unit of information that can be contained or transmitted is the bit, corresponding to a yes-or-no decision. [PJC]

5. (Computers) Useful facts, as contrasted with raw data; as, among all this data, there must be some interesting information. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Information — as a concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning,… …   Wikipedia

  • information — [ ɛ̃fɔrmasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1274; lat. informatio I ♦ Dr. Ensemble des actes qui tendent à établir la preuve d une infraction et à en découvrir les auteurs. ⇒ instruction (préparatoire). Ouvrir une information. Information contre X. Information… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • information — in‧for‧ma‧tion [ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʆn ǁ fər ] noun [uncountable] 1. facts or details that tell you about something or someone: • This is highly confidential information. • Corporations are making more financial information available to investors. ˈcredit… …   Financial and business terms

  • information — in·for·ma·tion n: an instrument containing a formal accusation of a crime that is issued by a prosecuting officer and that serves the same function as an indictment presented by a grand jury compare complaint 2, indictment ◇ About half the states …   Law dictionary

  • information — [in΄fər mā′shən] n. [ME informacioun < OFr information < L informatio, a representation, outline, sketch] 1. an informing or being informed; esp., a telling or being told of something 2. something told; news; intelligence; word 3. knowledge …   English World dictionary

  • information — late 14c., act of informing, from O.Fr. informacion, enformacion information, advice, instruction, from L. informationem (nom. informatio) outline, concept, idea, noun of action from pp. stem of informare (see INFORM (Cf. inform)). Meaning… …   Etymology dictionary

  • information — Information, Quaestio, Inquisitio. Faire informations ou enquestes, Anquirere, vel Quaerere. Demander que informations soient faites, et punition d aucun cas, Quaestionem postulare. Charges et informations, Elogia reorum ac testimonia. B. Grosses …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • information — Information. s. f. v. Terme de Pratique. Enqueste faite par Justice. Il ne se dit guere qu en matiere criminelle, Faire une information. l information porte. faire des informations. supprimer, brusler les informations. decreter les informations.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Information(en) — [Basiswortschatz (Rating 1 1500)] Auch: • Auskunft Bsp.: • Wo können wir Auskunft über diesen Mann bekommen? • Zu Ihrer Information, wir werden am Montag ankommen. • Unsere Leser wollen eine Menge Informationen …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Information — meaningful data (p. 3.7.1 ISO 9000:2005). Источник …   Словарь-справочник терминов нормативно-технической документации

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