- Profile paper
- Profile Pro"file, n. [It. profilo, fr. L. pro before + filum a
thread, an outline, shape: cf. F. profil. See {File} arow,
and cf. {Purfle}, {Purl}, a fringe.]
1. An outline, or contour; as, the profile of an apple.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Paint & Sculp.) A human head represented sidewise, or in a side view; the side face or half face. [1913 Webster]
3. (a) (Arch.) A section of any member, made at right angles with its main lines, showing the exact shape of moldings and the like. (b) (Civil Engin.) A drawing exhibiting a vertical section of the ground along a surveyed line, or graded work, as of a railway, showing elevations, depressions, grades, etc. [1913 Webster]
4. a short biography.
5. a set of data, often in graphical form, describing some significant features of something (e.g. a person, corporation); esp. a graph showing the results of tests of some attribute of a person.
6. public notice, used esp. in the phrase "(keep/maintain) a low profile", i. e. avoid public notice, avoid publicity. [1913 Webster]
{Profile paper} (Civil Engin.), paper ruled with vertical and horizontal lines forming small oblong rectangles, adapted for drawing profiles. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.