Dictionary De - En
De - Es
De - Pt| English Dictionary: ALT/ | by the DICT Development Group |
| 3 results for ALT/ | |
| From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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Alt \Alt\, a. & n. [See {Alto}.] (Mus.) The higher part of the scale. See {Alto}. {To be in alt}, to be in an exalted state of mind. | |
| From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]: | |
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alt /awlt/ 1. n. The alt shift key on an IBM PC or {clone} keyboard; see {bucky bits}, sense 2 (though typical PC usage does not simply set the 0200 bit). 2. n. The `option' key on a Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {feature key}, which is sometimes _incorrectly_ called `alt'). 3. n.,obs. [PDP-10; often capitalized to ALT] Alternate name for the ASCII ESC character (ASCII 0011011), after the keycap labeling on some older terminals; also `altmode' (/awlt'mohd/). This character was almost never pronounced `escape' on an ITS system, in {TECO}, or under TOPS-10 -- always alt, as in "Type alt alt to end a TECO command" or "alt-U onto the system" (for "log onto the [ITS] system"). This usage probably arose because alt is more convenient to say than `escape', especially when followed by another alt or a character (or another alt _and_ a character, for that matter). 4. The alt hierarchy on Usenet, the tree of newsgroups created by users without a formal vote and approval procedure. There is a myth, not entirely implausible, that alt is acronymic for "anarchists, lunatics, and terrorists"; but in fact it is simply short for "alternative". | |
| From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]: | |
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alt {keyboards}, including the {IBM PC}. On some keyboards and {operating systems}, (but not the IBM PC) the alt key sets bit 7 of the character generated. See {bucky bits}. 2. The "{clover}" or "Command" key on a {Macintosh}; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {feature key}). Some Mac hackers, confusingly, reserve "alt" for the Option key (and it is so labelled on some Mac II keyboards). 3. (Obsolete {PDP-10}; often "ALT") An alternate name for the {ASCII} ESC character (Escape, ASCII 27), after the keycap labelling on some older {terminals}; also "altmode" (/awlt'mohd/). This character was almost never pronounced "escape" on an {ITS} system, in {TECO} or under {TOPS-10}, always alt, as in "Type alt alt to end a TECO command" or "alt-U onto the system" (for "log onto the [ITS] system"). This usage probably arose because alt is easier to say. 4. It was founded by {John Gilmore} and {Brian Reid}. The alt hierarchy is special in that anyone can create new groups here without going though the normal voting proceduers, hence the regular appearence of new groups with names such as "alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork". [{Jargon File}] (1997-04-12) | |
