I. də̇ˈsplā sometimes ˈdiˌs- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English displayen, from Anglo-French despleier, from Latin displicare to scatter, from dis- dis- (I) + plicare to fold — more at ply
transitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : to spread or stretch out or wide : unfold
b. : deploy 1
2.
a. : to spread before the view : exhibit to the sight or mind : give evidence of : show , manifest , disclose
displayed the flag for all to see
display a map on the table
display one's appreciation
display criminal tendencies
specifically : to put on exhibition
these reproductions have been displayed throughout Canada — Report: (Canadian) Royal Commission on National Development
two model houses were displayed for a week
b. : to exhibit conspicuously
display a gift for ham acting
c. : to set forth (as in representation or narrative) : describe , depict
the canvases displayed shabby acrobats — Time
d. : to set in display in printing
3. obsolete : discover , descry
intransitive verb
1. : to make a display : act as one making a show or demonstration
2. : to present or advertise something by means of a display
Synonyms: see show
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
1. obsolete : a presentation by representation or narrative : description
2.
a. : an exhibiting or showing of something : an unfolding or opening out to view : exhibition , manifestation
want no display of emotion — Henry Adams
specifically : the means by which radar echoes or other information is given to an operator in visual form in communications
b. : ostentatious show : exhibition for effect
the Church of the Brethren or the Mennonite Church, neither of which countenances worldly display — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
making a disgusting display in front of company
c. : composition designed to catch the eye (as by the use of lines of uneven length or different type sizes or styles) and typically used in title pages, advertising brochures, and magazine covers
display composition
display typefaces
also : printed matter so composed
the local press gave top display to the murder story
d. : an often artistic conspicuous eye-catching construction or assemblage by which something (as merchandise or collector's items) is exhibited or advertised
his pictures are on display at the art gallery
also : the use of such constructions or assemblages
display is the key to self-service sales — Printers' Ink
3. : a stereotypic pattern of behavior exhibited especially by male birds in the breeding season that serves to initiate specific responses in another individual (as a possible breeding partner or a potential territorial rival)
the males congregate on a low knoll serving as a display ground — J.M.Flagler
Synonyms:
parade , array , pomp : display may suggest a spectacular spreading out in or as if in exhibition to impress by extent, detail, beauty, number, or lavishness
the display of political partisanship on the part of the Hamilton-Jefferson faction — J.C.Fitzpatrick
fine editions that make an impressive display in an oilman's library — Green Peyton
a fine display of camellias in bloom — American Guide Series: Louisiana
an imitation of the jousts of the middle ages, providing displays of horsemanship — American Guide Series: North Carolina
parade may indicate ostenatious flaunting, usually sustained, to impress, dazzle, or awe another
he does not make the least parade of his wealth or his gentility — J.C.Snaith
in the ritornello, with its parade of themes, one immediately recognizes the orchestral opulence and virtuosity of the incomparable Toscanini — Abram Chasins
array may suggest order and brilliancy in display of or as if of marshaled ranks of soldiers
we look up at this facade and see a magnificent array of saints, all ordered in their appropriate niches; we recognize Homer, Dante, Shakespeare and several others — Herbert Read
today's motorists come in all seasons to revel in such an array of splendors as few other roads of the state can offer — Maynard Leahey
pomp , once often used of a ceremonial process of pageant, now suggests spectacular brilliance or splendid ostentation often accomplished with vain or lofty punctiliousness
a pomp of flaming colors — F.D.Ommanney
the pomp of nations that pretend to be sovereign — C.W.Ferguson
III. noun
: an electronic device (as a cathode-ray tube or a liquid-crystal readout) that presents information in visual form ; also : the visual information