From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
control
n 1: power to direct or determine; "under control"
2: a relation of constraint of one entity (thing or person or
group) by another; "measures for the control of disease";
"they instituted controls over drinking on campus"
3: (physiology) regulation or maintenance of a function or
action or reflex etc; "the timing and control of his
movements were unimpaired"; "he had lost control of his
sphincters"
4: a standard against which other conditions can be compared in
a scientific experiment; "the control condition was
inappropriate for the conclusions he wished to draw" [syn:
control condition, control]
5: the activity of managing or exerting control over something;
"the control of the mob by the police was admirable"
6: the state that exists when one person or group has power over
another; "her apparent dominance of her husband was really
her attempt to make him pay attention to her" [syn:
dominance, ascendance, ascendence, ascendancy,
ascendency, control]
7: discipline in personal and social activities; "he was a model
of polite restraint"; "she never lost control of herself"
[syn: restraint, control] [ant: unrestraint]
8: great skillfulness and knowledge of some subject or activity;
"a good command of French" [syn: command, control,
mastery]
9: a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine; "the
speed controller on his turntable was not working properly";
"I turned the controls over to her" [syn: control,
controller]
10: a spiritual agency that is assumed to assist the medium
during a seance
11: the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing
prices or wages etc.; "they wanted to repeal all the
legislation that imposed economic controls"
v 1: exercise authoritative control or power over; "control the
budget"; "Command the military forces" [syn: control,
command]
2: lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or
keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold
your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger" [syn:
control, hold in, hold, contain, check, curb,
moderate]
3: handle and cause to function; "do not operate machinery after
imbibing alcohol"; "control the lever" [syn: operate,
control]
4: control (others or oneself) or influence skillfully, usually
to one's advantage; "She manipulates her boss"; "She is a
very controlling mother and doesn't let her children grow
up"; "The teacher knew how to keep the class in line"; "she
keeps in line" [syn: manipulate, keep in line, control]
5: check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a
parallel experiment or comparing with another standard; "Are
you controlling for the temperature?" [syn: control,
verify]
6: verify by using a duplicate register for comparison; "control
an account"
7: be careful or certain to do something; make certain of
something; "He verified that the valves were closed"; "See
that the curtains are closed"; "control the quality of the
product" [syn: see, check, insure, see to it,
ensure, control, ascertain, assure]
8: have a firm understanding or knowledge of; be on top of; "Do
you control these data?" [syn: master, control]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Control \Con*trol"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Controlled; p. pr. &
vb. n. Controlling.] [F. contr[^o]ler, fr. contr[^o]le.]
[Formerly written comptrol and controul.]
1. To check by a counter register or duplicate account; to
prove by counter statements; to confute. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
This report was controlled to be false. --Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
2. To exercise restraining or governing influence over; to
check; to counteract; to restrain; to regulate; to govern;
to overpower.
[1913 Webster]
Give me a staff of honor for mine age,
But not a scepter to control the world. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
I feel my virtue struggling in my soul:
But stronger passion does its power control.
--Dryden.
3. to assure the validity of an experimental procedure by
using a {control[7]}.
[PJC]
Syn: To restrain; rule; govern; manage; guide; regulate;
hinder; direct; check; curb; counteract; subdue.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Control \Con*trol"\, n. [F. contr[^o]le a counter register,
contr. fr. contr-r[^o]le; contre (L. contra) + r[^o]le roll,
catalogue. See Counter and Roll, and cf. Counterroll.]
1. A duplicate book, register, or account, kept to correct or
check another account or register; a counter register.
[Obs.] --Johnson.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which serves to check, restrain, or hinder;
restraint. "Speak without control." --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
3. Power or authority to check or restrain; restraining or
regulating influence; superintendence; government; as,
children should be under parental control.
[1913 Webster]
The House of Commons should exercise a control over
all the departments of the executive administration.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Mach.) The complete apparatus used to control a mechanism
or machine in operation, as a flying machine in flight;
specifically (A["e]ronautics), the mechanism controlling
the rudders and ailerons.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
5. (Climatology) Any of the physical factors determining the
climate of any particular place, as latitude,distribution
of land and water, altitude, exposure, prevailing winds,
permanent high- or low-barometric-pressure areas, ocean
currents, mountain barriers, soil, and vegetation.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
6. (Technology) in research, an object or subject used in an
experimental procedure, which is treated identically to
the primary subject of the experiment, except for the
omission of the specific treatment or conditions whose
effect is being investigated. If the control is a group of
living organisms, as is common in medical research, it is
called the
control group.
Note: For most experimental procedures, the results are not
considered valid and reliable unless a proper control
experiment is performed. There are various types of
control used in experimental science, and often several
groups of subjects serve as controls, being subjected
to different variations of the experimental procedure,
or controlling for several variables being tested. When
the effects caused by an experimental treatment are not
consistent and obvious, statistical analysis of the
results is typically used to determine if there are any
significant differences between the effects of
different experimental conditions.
[PJC]
7. (Technology) the part of an experimental procedure in
which the controls[6] are subjected to the experimental
conditions.
[PJC]
8. the group of technical specialists exercising control by
remote communications over a distant operation, such as a
space flight; as, the American Mission Control for manned
flights is located in Houston.
[PJC]
Board of control. See under Board.
[1913 Webster]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008) [foldoc]:
control
ctrl
<character> (Or "ctrl", "^") One (or a pair) of {modifier
keys} found on all modern keyboards. If the control key is
held down while pressing and releasing certain other keys then
a "control character" is generated, e.g. holding control and
hitting "A" generates control-A (ASCII code 1). The ASCII
code for the control character is generally 64 less than that
for the unmodified character.
The control key does not generate any character on its own but
most modern keyboards and operating systems allow a program
to tell whether each of the individual keys on the keyboard
(including modifier keys) is pressed at any time.
Control characters mostly have some kind of "non-printing"
effect on the output such as ringing the bell (Control-G) or
advancing to the next line (Control-J). Most have alternative
names suggesting these functions (Bell, Line Feed, etc.).
See ASCII character table.
(1997-07-10)