From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
screen
n 1: a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected
for viewing [syn: silver screen, projection screen]
2: something that keeps things out or hinders sight; "they had
just moved in and had not put up blinds yet" [syn:
blind]
3: display on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray
tube on which is electronically created [syn: {CRT
screen}]
4: a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something;
"they crouched behind the screen"; "under cover of
darkness" [syn: cover, covert, concealment]
5: protective covering consisting of a metallic netting mounted
in a frame and covering windows or doors (especially for
protection against insects)
6: a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or
grading particles [syn: sieve]
7: a door that is a screen to keep insects from entering a
building through the open door; "he heard the screen slam
as she left" [syn: screen door]
8: partition consisting of a decorative frame or panel that
serves to divide a space
v 1: test or examine for the presence of disease or infection;
"screen the blood for the HIV virus" [syn: test]
2: examine methodically; "screen the suitcases"
3: examine in order to test suitability; "screen these
samples"; "screen the job applicants" [syn: screen out,
sieve, sort]
4: project onto a screen for viewing; "screen a film"
5: prevent from entering; "block out the strong sunlight" [syn:
block out]
6: separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff [syn: riddle]
7: protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm [syn:
shield]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Screen \Screen\ (skr[=e]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Screened; p.
pr. & vb. n. Screening.]
1. To provide with a shelter or means of concealment; to
separate or cut off from inconvenience, injury, or danger;
to shelter; to protect; to protect by hiding; to conceal;
as, fruits screened from cold winds by a forest or hill.
[1913 Webster]
They were encouraged and screened by some who were
in high commands. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. To pass, as coal, gravel, ashes, etc., through a screen in
order to separate the coarse from the fine, or the
worthless from the valuable; to sift.
[1913 Webster]
3. to examine a group of objects methodically, to separate
them into groups or to select one or more for some
purpose. As:
(a) To inspect the qualifications of candidates for a job,
to select one or more to be hired.
(b) (Biochem., Med.) to test a large number of samples, in
order to find those having specific desirable
properties; as, to screen plant extracts for
anticancer agents.
[PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Screen \Screen\ (skr[=e]n), n. [OE. scren, OF. escrein, escran,
F. ['e]cran, of uncertain origin; cf. G. schirm a screen,
OHG. scirm, scerm a protection, shield, or G. schragen a
trestle, a stack of wood, or G. schranne a railing.]
1. Anything that separates or cuts off inconvenience, injury,
or danger; that which shelters or conceals from view; a
shield or protection; as, a fire screen.
[1913 Webster]
Your leavy screens throw down. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Some ambitious men seem as screens to princes in
matters of danger and envy. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Arch.) A dwarf wall or partition carried up to a certain
height for separation and protection, as in a church, to
separate the aisle from the choir, or the like.
[1913 Webster]
3. A surface, as that afforded by a curtain, sheet, wall,
etc., upon which an image, as a picture, is thrown by a
magic lantern, solar microscope, etc.
[1913 Webster]
4. A long, coarse riddle or sieve, sometimes a revolving
perforated cylinder, used to separate the coarser from the
finer parts, as of coal, sand, gravel, and the like.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Cricket) An erection of white canvas or wood placed on
the boundary opposite a batsman to enable him to see ball
better.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
6. a netting, usu. of metal, contained in a frame, used
mostly in windows or doors to allow in fresh air while
excluding insects.
Screen door, a door of which half or more is composed of a
screen.
Screen window, a screen inside a frame, fitted for
insertion into a window frame.
[PJC]
7. The surface of an electronic device, as a television set
or computer monitor, on which a visible image is formed.
The screen is frequently the surface of a cathode-ray tube
containing phosphors excited by the electron beam, but
other methods for causing an image to appear on the screen
are also used, as in flat-panel displays.
[PJC]
8. The motion-picture industry; motion pictures. "A star of
stage and screen."
[PJC]
From Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) [jargon]:
screen
n.
[Atari ST demoscene] One demoeffect or one screenful of them.
Probably comes from old Sierra-style adventures or shoot-em-ups where
one travels from one place to another one screenful at a time.