module

See also: Module and modulé

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French module, from Latin modulus (a small measure, a measure, mode, meter), diminutive of modus (measure) (whence mode). Doublet of mold.

Pronunciation

Noun

module (plural modules)

  1. A self-contained component of a system, often interchangeable, which has a well-defined interface to the other components.
  2. (architecture) A standard unit of measure used for determining the proportions of a building.
  3. (computing) A section of a program; a subroutine or group of subroutines.
    • 2001, Phil Jones, Visual Basic: A Complete Course (page 254)
      Class modules are similar to form modules except they do not have a visible interface (GUI).
  4. A unit of education covering a single topic.
    Which modules are you studying next year?
  5. A pre-prepared adventure scenario with related materials for a role-playing game.
    • 2011, Michael J. Tresca, The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games (page 81)
      Dragonborn [] first appeared in the Dragons of Despair module (1984) for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as “dragonmen.”
  6. (algebra, ring theory) An abelian group equipped with the operation of multiplication by an element of a ring (or another of certain algebraic objects), representing a generalisation of the concept of vector space with scalar multiplication.
    • 1974, Thomas W. Hungerford, Algebra, Springer, page 168,
      Modules over a ring are a generalization of abelian groups (which are modules over ).
    • 2004, Robert R. Colby, Kent R. Fuller, Equivalence and Duality for Module Categories (with Tilting and Cotilting for Rings), Cambridge University Press, page vii,
      Approximately forty-five years ago K. Morita presented the first major results on equivalences and dualities between categories of modules over a pair of rings.
    • 2012, A. A. Kirillov, Elements of the Theory of Representations, Springer, page 29,
      One defines in like manner right K-modules and two-sided K-modules. If K is commutative, then every left K-module is automatically equipped with the structure of right and a two-sided K-module.
  7. (fractal geometry, mathematics) A fractal element.
  8. (music) A file containing a music sequence that can be played in a tracker (called also mod or music module).
  9. (hydraulics) A contrivance for regulating the supply of water from an irrigation channel.
  10. (astronautics) An independent self-contained unit of a spacecraft.

Usage notes

  • (abelian group equipped with multiplication by an element of a ring):
    • For a given ring R, one speaks of an "R-module" or, equivalently, of a "module over R". R is expected to be unital.
    • R may also be a Lie algebra.
    • If K is a field, "K-module" is identical to "K-vector space".
    • If the ring is not commutative, scalar multiplication of a module is defined as left- and/or right-multiplication, and one refers to a "left R-module" or a "right R-module".
    • The concept of module is closely connected to the representation theory of groups and is central to both commutative algebra and homological algebra. Modules are also widely used in algebraic geometry and algebraic topology.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Further reading


French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modulus. Doublet of moule.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mɔ.dyl/

Noun

module m (plural modules)

  1. module

Further reading


Latin

Noun

module

  1. vocative singular of modulus

Spanish

Verb

module

  1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of modular.
  2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of modular.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of modular.
  4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of modular.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.