From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
structure
n 1: a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many
parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches";
"she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and
ribbons" [syn: structure, construction]
2: the manner of construction of something and the arrangement
of its parts; "artists must study the structure of the human
body"; "the structure of the benzene molecule"
3: the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their
combinations; "his lectures have no structure"
4: a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing; "he
has good bone structure" [syn: structure, {anatomical
structure}, complex body part, bodily structure, {body
structure}]
5: the people in a society considered as a system organized by a
characteristic pattern of relationships; "the social
organization of England and America is very different";
"sociologists have studied the changing structure of the
family" [syn: social organization, social organisation,
social structure, social system, structure]
v 1: give a structure to; "I need to structure my days"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Structure \Struc"ture\, n. [L. structura, from struere,
structum, to arrange, build, construct; perhaps akin to E.
strew: cf. F. structure. Cf. Construe, Destroy,
Instrument, Obstruct.]
1. The act of building; the practice of erecting buildings;
construction. [R.]
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His son builds on, and never is content
Till the last farthing is in structure spent. --J.
Dryden, Jr.
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2. Manner of building; form; make; construction.
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Want of insight into the structure and constitution
of the terraqueous globe. --Woodward.
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3. Arrangement of parts, of organs, or of constituent
particles, in a substance or body; as, the structure of a
rock or a mineral; the structure of a sentence.
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It [basalt] has often a prismatic structure. --Dana.
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4. (Biol.) Manner of organization; the arrangement of the
different tissues or parts of animal and vegetable
organisms; as, organic structure, or the structure of
animals and plants; cellular structure.
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5. That which is built; a building; esp., a building of some
size or magnificence; an edifice.
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There stands a structure of majestic frame. --Pope.
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Columnar structure. See under Columnar.
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