envelope : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: envelope	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for envelope
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
envelope n a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc. any wrapper or covering a curve that is tangent to each of a family of curves a natural covering (as by a fluid); "the spacecraft detected an envelope of gas around the comet" the maximum operating capability of a system (especially an aircraft); "test pilots try to push the envelope" the bag containing the gas in a balloon Synonym(s): envelope, gasbag
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Envelope \En"velope\ (?; 277), Envelop \Envel"op\ (?; 277), n. [F. enveloppe.] 1. That which envelops, wraps up, encases, or surrounds; a wrapper; an inclosing cover; esp., the cover or wrapper of a document, as of a letter. 2. (Astron.) The nebulous covering of the head or nucleus of a comet; -- called also {coma}. 3. (Fort.) A work of earth, in the form of a single parapet or of a small rampart. It is sometimes raised in the ditch and sometimes beyond it. --Wilhelm. 4. (Geom.) A curve or surface which is tangent to each member of a system of curves or surfaces, the form and position of the members of the system being allowed to vary according to some continuous law. Thus, any curve is the envelope of its tangents.