Contents
English
Most common English words: position « copy « opened « #543: purpose » fall » pass » doingPronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“‘to propose’”), from Latin prō (“‘forth’”) + pausāre, present active infinitive of pausō (“‘halt, cease, pause’”).
Noun
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Singular purpose |
Plural purposes |
purpose (plural purposes)
- An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
- A result that is desired; an intention.
- The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
- The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
- The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
Synonyms
- (target): aim, goal, object, target
- (intention): aim, plan, intention
- (determination): determination, intention, resolution
- (subject of discourse): matter, subject, topic
- (reason for doing something): reason
- See also Wikisaurus:goal
Derived terms
terms derived from purpose
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Translations
target
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to be checked
- German: Zweck m.
Etymology 2
From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“‘to propose’”)
Verb
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Infinitive to purpose |
Third person singular purposes |
Simple past purposed |
Past participle purposed |
Present participle purposing |
to purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)
- (transitive) Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
- (transitive) (passive) Designed for some purpose.
Derived terms
Synonyms
Translations
have set as one's purpose; intend
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References
- “purpose” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- “purpose” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
- “purpose” in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.
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Reuters
Kenneth Barnes will join 46 other Purpose Prize Fellows at a Summit on Innovation on Oct. 31 - Nov. 1 at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business' ...
and more »
Media Matters staff
hu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:51 GM
RedState's Erickson claims . purpose. of Bachmann rally is "to tell Nancy Pelosi and the Congress to send Obama to a death panel". November 05, 2009 7:00 am ET by Media Matters staff. From Erick Erickson's November 5 post on RedState.com: ...
