program

I. noun Etymology: French programme agenda, public notice, from Greek programma, from prographein to write before, from pro- before + graphein to write — more at carve Date: 1633 1. [Late Latin programma, from Greek] a public notice 2. a. a brief usually printed outline of the order to be followed, of the features to be presented, and the persons participating (as in a public performance) b. the performance of a program; especially a performance broadcast on radio or television 3. a plan or system under which action may be taken toward a goal 4. curriculum 5. prospectus, syllabus 6. a. a plan for the programming of a mechanism (as a computer) b. a sequence of coded instructions that can be inserted into a mechanism (as a computer) c. a sequence of coded instructions (as genes or behavioral responses) that is part of an organism II. transitive verb also programme (-grammed or -gramed; -gramming or -graming) Date: 1896 1. a. to arrange or furnish a program of or for ; bill b. to enter in a program 2. to work out a sequence of operations to be performed by (a mechanism) ; provide with a program 3. a. to insert a program for (a particular action) into or as if into a mechanism b. to control by or as if by a program c. (1) to code in an organism's program (2) to provide with a biological program <

cells programmed to synthesize hemoglobin

> 4. to predetermine the thinking, behavior, or operations of as if by computer programming <

children are programmed into violence — Lisa A. Richette

> • programmability noun • programmable adjective or noun