Instruction

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Instruction \In*struc"tion\, n. [L. instructio: cf. F.
     instruction.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with
        knowledge; information.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. That which instructs, or with which one is instructed; the
        intelligence or information imparted; as:
        (a) Precept; information; teachings.
        (b) Direction; order; command. "If my instructions may be
            your guide." --Shak.
  
     3. (Computers) a segment of coded data that is interpreted by
        a computer as a command to perform an operation or series
        of operations. The term instruction is applied to both the
        electronic form of the data as represented in and executed
        by the computer, and to any line of written computer code
        which is interpreted as one instruction by a compiler. A
        {computer program} is comprised of one or more
        instructions.
  
     Note: Instructions as contained in a program are formulated
           in a {programming language}, which may be an {assembly
           language}, in which one instruction corresponds to one
           command executed by the coputer, or in a {higher-level
           programming language}, in which one instruction may
           represent one of many instructions in {assembly
           language}. Higher-level programming languages include,
           for example, FORTRAN, ALGOL, ADA, C, "C++", COBOL, and
           JAVA; each of these languages have their own
           distinctive set of allowable instructions.
  
     Syn: command, statement, line of code, program line.
          [PJC]
  
     Syn: Education; teaching; indoctrination; information;
          advice; counsel. See {Education}.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  instruction
       n 1: a message describing how something is to be done; "he gave
            directions faster than she could follow them" [syn: {direction}]
       2: the activities of educating or instructing or teaching;
          activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no
          formal education"; "our instruction was carefully
          programmed"; "good teaching is seldom rewarded" [syn: {education},
           {teaching}, {pedagogy}, {educational activity}]
       3: the profession of a teacher; "he prepared for teaching while
          still in college"; "pedagogy is recognized as an important
          profession" [syn: {teaching}, {pedagogy}]
       4: (computer science) a line of code written as part of a
          computer program [syn: {command}, {statement}, {program
          line}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  151 Moby Thesaurus words for "instruction":
     accomplishments, account, acquaintance, acquisition of knowledge,
     acquisitions, admonition, advice, advising, advocacy, announcement,
     assignment, attainments, blue book, brief, briefing, bulletin,
     catechization, caution, caveat, chalk talk, charge, classes,
     coaching, command, commission, communication, communique,
     consultation, council, counsel, data, datum, dictate, didactics,
     direction, directive, directory, discourse, dispatch, disquisition,
     drill, drilling, edification, education, enlightenment, evidence,
     exercise, exhortation, exposition, expostulation, facts,
     factual information, familiarization, gen, general information,
     general orders, guidance, guidebook, guideline, handout, harangue,
     hard information, homework, homily, hortation, idea, illumination,
     incidental information, indoctrination, info, information,
     injunction, instructions, intelligence, knowledge, learning,
     lecture, lecture-demonstration, lesson, lessons, liberal education,
     light, mention, message, monition, moral, moral lesson, morality,
     moralization, notice, notification, object lesson, opinion, order,
     parley, pedagogics, pedagogy, preachment, precept, preparation,
     prescript, prescription, presentation, private teaching,
     programmed instruction, promotional material, proof, proposal,
     publication, publicity, recital, recitation, recommendation,
     reeducation, regulation, release, remonstrance, report, rule,
     schooling, self-instruction, self-teaching, sermon, set task,
     sidelight, skull session, sophistication, spoon-feeding, statement,
     store of knowledge, suggestion, talk, task, teaching, the dope,
     the goods, the know, the scoop, thought, training, transmission,
     tuition, tutelage, tutorage, tutorial, tutoring, tutorship,
     warning, white book, white paper, word
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  INSTRUCTION, French law. This word signifies the means used and formality 
  employed to prepare a case for trial. it is generally applied to criminal 
  cases, and is then called criminal, instruction; it is then defined the acts 
  and proceedings which tend to prove positively a crime or delict, in order 
  to inflict on the guilty person the punishment which he deserves.