Reference is a relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to refer to the second object. The second object – the one to which the first object refers – is called the referent of the first object.
The term reference is used in many spheres of human knowledge, adopting shades of meaning particular to the contexts in which it is used.
References can take on many forms, including: a thought, a sensory perception that is audible (onomatopoeia), visual (text), olfactory, or tactile, emotional state, relationship with other, spacetime coordinate, symbolic or alpha-numeric, a physical object or an energy projection; but, other concrete and abstract contexts exist as methods of defining references within the scope of the various fields that require an origin, point of departure, or an original form. This includes methods that intentionally hide the reference from some observers, as in cryptography.
The following sections give specific usages of reference in different subjects.
Read more about Reference: Etymology, Computer Science, Bibliographies, Library and Information Sciences, Encyclopedias & Books of Facts, Psychology, Economics and Business, Education, Law, Semantics, Mathematics, Engineering, Arts, Literature and Rhetoric
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... The literary reference not only demonstrates the character's knowledge of classic texts, but the poem's reference to the Pacific Ocean matches Mayhew's announcement that ... This is likely a reference to Marshall Swain and George Pappas, philosophers whose work focuses on themes explored in the movie, including the limitations ... Critics have suggested that the movie indirectly references the work of writers Dante Alighieri (through the use of Divine Comedy imagery) and Johann ...
... The Encyclopedia of Public Health is a reference set of four volumes covering all aspects of public health for the lay reader ... received the CHOICE 2002 award for Outstanding Academic Reference Title and has been listed in the Booklist/Reference Book Bulletin Editor's Choice of Outstanding Reference titles ...
... alludes to "the story of Solomon's mammy", a reference to Bathsheba, who gave birth to Solomon after her lover David had her husband Uriah killed ... Audrey cuts Mayhew off by praising his book (which Audrey herself may have written), the reference foreshadows the love triangle which evolves among the ... Another Biblical reference comes when Barton flips to the front of the Bible in his desk drawer, and sees his own words transposed into the Book of Genesis ...
... The geometrical separation between it and the reference ellipsoid is called the geoidal undulation ... A reference ellipsoid, customarily chosen to be the same size (volume) as the geoid, is described by its semi-major axis (equatorial radius) a and flattening f ... The 1980 Geodetic Reference System (GRS 80) posited a 378. 137m semi-major axis and a 1/298.257 101 ... flattening ...
... Reference doses are chemical-specific, i.e ... the EPA determines a unique reference dose for every substance it evaluates ... Reference doses are specific to dietary exposure ...
Famous quotes containing the word reference:
“Meaning is what essence becomes when it is divorced from the object of reference and wedded to the word.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.”
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965)