The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pattern \Pat"tern\, n. [OE. patron, F. patron, a patron, also, a
pattern. See Patron.]
1. Anything proposed for imitation; an archetype; an
exemplar; that which is to be, or is worthy to be, copied
or imitated; as, a pattern of a machine.
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I will be the pattern of all patience. --Shak.
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2. A part showing the figure or quality of the whole; a
specimen; a sample; an example; an instance.
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He compares the pattern with the whole piece.
--Swift.
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3. Stuff sufficient for a garment; as, a dress pattern.
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4. Figure or style of decoration; design; as, wall paper of a
beautiful pattern.
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5. Something made after a model; a copy. --Shak.
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The patterns of things in the heavens. --Heb. ix.
23.
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6. Anything cut or formed to serve as a guide to cutting or
forming objects; as, a dressmaker's pattern.
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7. (Founding) A full-sized model around which a mold of sand
is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made
of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the
mold without injuring it.
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8. a recognizable characteristic relationship or set of
relationships between the members of any set of objects or
actions, or the properties of the members; also, the set
having a definable relationship between its members.
[PJC]
Note: Various collections of objects or markings are spoken
of as a pattern. Thus: the distribution of bomb or
shell impacts on a target area, or of bullet holes in a
target; a set of traits or actions that appear to be
consistent throughout the members of a group or over
time within a group, as behavioral pattern, traffic
pattern, dress pattern; the wave pattern for a spoken
word; the pattern of intensities in a spectrum; a
grammatical pattern.
[PJC]
9. (Gun.) A diagram showing the distribution of the pellets
of a shotgun on a vertical target perpendicular to the
plane of fire.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
10. the recommended flight path for an airplane to follow as
it approaches an airport for a landing. Same as landing
pattern.
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11. an image or diagram containing lines, usually horizontal,
vertical, and diagonal, sometimes of varying widths, used
to test the resolution of an optical instrument or the
accuracy of reproduction of image copying or transmission
equipment. Same as test pattern.
[PJC]
pattern box, pattern chain, or pattern cylinder (Figure
Weaving), devices, in a loom, for presenting several
shuttles to the picker in the proper succession for
forming the figure.
Pattern card.
(a) A set of samples on a card.
(b) (Weaving) One of the perforated cards in a Jacquard
apparatus.
Pattern reader, one who arranges textile patterns.
Pattern wheel (Horology), a count-wheel.
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