— monitorship , n.
/mon"i teuhr/ n.
1. a student appointed to assist in the conduct of a class or school, as to help take attendance or keep order.
2. a person appointed to supervise students, applicants, etc., taking an examination, chiefly to prevent cheating; proctor.
3. a person who admonishes, esp. with reference to conduct.
4. something that serves to remind or give warning.
5. a device or arrangement for observing, detecting, or recording the operation of a machine or system, esp. an automatic control system.
6. an instrument for detecting dangerous gases, radiation, etc.
7. Radio and Television.
a. a receiving apparatus used in a control room, esp. to provide a steady check of the quality of an audio or video transmission.
b. a similar apparatus placed in various parts of a studio so that an audience can watch a recorded portion of a show, the performer can see the various segments of a program, etc.
c. any such receiving apparatus used in a closed-circuit system, as in an operating room.
8. Computers.
a. a component, as a CRT, with a screen for viewing data at a computer terminal.
b. a control program. Cf. operating system .
c. a group of systems used to measure the performance of a computer system.
9. Naut.
a. a former U.S. steam-propelled, armored warship of very low freeboard, having one or more turrets and used for coastal defense.
b. ( cap., italics ) the first of such warships, used against the Confederate ironclad warship Merrimac at Hampton Roads, Va., in 1862.
10. a raised construction straddling the ridge of a roof and having windows or louvers for lighting or ventilating a building, as a factory or warehouse.
11. an articulated mounting for a nozzle, usually mechanically operated, which permits a stream of water to be played in any desired direction, as in firefighting or hydraulic mining.
12. Also called giant . (in hydraulic mining) a nozzle for dislodging and breaking up placer deposits with a jet of water.
13. any of various large lizards of the family Varanidae, of Africa, southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, fabled to give warning of the presence of crocodiles: several species are endangered.
v.t.
14. Radio and Television.
a. to listen to (transmitted signals) on a receiving set in order to check the quality of the transmission.
b. to view or listen to (television or radio transmissions) in order to check the quality of the video or audio.
c. to listen to (a radio conversation or channel); keep tuned to.
15. to observe, record, or detect (an operation or condition) with instruments that have no effect upon the operation or condition.
16. to oversee, supervise, or regulate: to monitor the administering of a test.
17. to watch closely for purposes of control, surveillance, etc.; keep track of; check continually: to monitor one's eating habits.
v.i.
18. to serve as a monitor, detector, supervisor, etc.
[ 1540-50; moni-, var. s. of monere to remind, advise, warn + -tor -TOR ]