volatile : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: volatile	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for volatile
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
volatile adj evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures; "volatile oils"; "volatile solvents" Antonym(s): nonvolatile, nonvolatilisable, nonvolatilizable liable to lead to sudden change or violence; "an explosive issue"; "a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation" Synonym(s): explosive, volatile marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments; "fickle friends"; "a flirt's volatile affections" Synonym(s): fickle, volatile tending to vary often or widely; "volatile stocks"; "volatile emotions" n a volatile substance; a substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to a vapor; "it was heated to evaporate the volatiles"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Volatile \Vol"a*tile\, n. [Cf. F. volatile.] A winged animal; wild fowl; game. [Obs.] --Chaucer. --Sir T. Browne.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Volatile \Vol"atile\, a. [F. volatil, L. volatilis, fr. volare to fly, perhaps akin to velox swift, E. velocity. Cf. {Volley}.] 1. Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly. [Obs.] 2. Capable of wasting away, or of easily passing into the a[89]riform state; subject to evaporation. Note: Substances which affect the smell with pungent or fragrant odors, as musk, hartshorn, and essential oils, are called volatile* substances, because they waste away on exposure to the atmosphere. Alcohol and ether are called volatile liquids for a similar reason, and because they easily pass into the state of vapor on the application of heat. On the contrary, gold is a fixed substance, because it does not suffer waste, even when exposed to the heat of a furnace; and oils are called fixed when they do not evaporate on simple exposure to the atmosphere. 3. Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper. You are as giddy and volatile as ever. --Swift. {Volatile alkali}. (Old Chem.) See under {Alkali}. {Volatile liniment}, a liniment composed of sweet oil and ammonia, so called from the readiness with which the latter evaporates. {Volatile oils}. (Chem.) See {Essential oils}, under {Essential}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
volatile 1. {volatile variable}. 2. See {non-volatile storage}. (1997-06-05)