Applications

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃənz/

Definitions

1. A variety of uses or functions across different situations
2. Software solutions implemented for specific tasks on devices
3. Different ways in which something can be used or put to work ; computer programs designed to perform specific functions

Etymology: The plural "applications" simply pluralises the noun "application," which passed into English from Old French "aplicacion," itself taken from the Latin "applicātiō," meaning an attachment or a joining-on. The Latin verb behind it, "applicō," combines "ad-" ("to") with "plicō" ("to fold"), so the root idea is folding one thing against another, a sense that still lingers in "apply" and its relatives. The noun arrived in Middle English in the late period, which means the sense "putting something to use" came later than the physical sense of attaching or joining. Over the centuries the word moved from the literal to the abstract: a thing laid or fixed onto something else became a request laid before someone, and then the act of bringing a thing to bear on a purpose. That path explains why "applications," in the plural, can mean the many concrete ways something gets used in daily life.

Synonyms: uses, utilizations, deployments, implementations, submissions