ENVELOPE


Meaning of ENVELOPE in English

/en"veuh lohp', ahn"-/ , n.

1. a flat paper container, as for a letter or thin package, usually having a gummed flap or other means of closure.

2. something that envelops; a wrapper, integument, or surrounding cover.

3. Biol. a surrounding or enclosing structure, as a corolla or an outer membrane.

4. Geom. a curve or surface tangent to each member of a set of curves or surfaces.

5. Radio. (of a modulated carrier wave) a curve connecting the peaks of a graph of the instantaneous value of the electric or magnetic component of the carrier wave as a function of time.

6. the fabric structure enclosing the gasbag of an aerostat.

7. the gasbag itself.

8. Electronics. the airtight glass or metal housing of a vacuum tube.

9. the technical limits within which an aircraft or electronic system may be safely operated.

10. push the envelope , to stretch the limits, as of technological advance, social innovation, etc.

Also, envelop .

[ 1700-10; enveloppe, deriv. of envelopper to ENVELOP ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .