Webster's English Dictionary

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standard

1. stan.dard \'stan-d*rd\ n [ME, fr. MF estandard rallying point, standard, 
   of Gmc origin; akin to OE] standan to stand and to OE ord point - more at 
   ODD 1: a conspicuous object (as a banner) formerly used at the top of a 
   pole to  mark a rallying point esp. in battle or to serve as an emblem 2a: 
   a long narrow tapering flag that is personal to an individual or corpor 
   ation and bears heraldic devices 2b: the personal flag of the head of a 
   state or of a member of a royal fami ly 2c: an organization flag carried by 
   a mounted or motorized military unit  2d: BANNER  3: something established 
   by authority, custom, or general consent as a mode l or example : CRITERION 
   4: something set up and established by authority as a rule for the measure  
   of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality 5a: the fineness and legally 
   fixed weight of the metal used in coins  5b: the basis of value in a 
   monetary system  6: a structure built for or serving as a base or support  
   7: a plant grown with an erect main stem so that it forms or resembles a tr 
   ee; also : a fruit tree grafted on a stock that does not induce dwarfing 
   8a: the large upper posterior petal of some flowers  8b: one of the three 
   inner usu. erect and incurved petals of an iris UCHSTONE denote a means of 
   determining what a thing should be. STANDARD applies to any definite rule, 
   principle, or measure established by authority; CRITERION may apply to 
   anything used as a test of quality whether formulated as a rule or 
   principle or not; GAUGE applies to a means of testing a particular 
   dimension (as thickness, depth, diameter) or figuratively a particular 
   quality or aspect; YARDSTICK is an informal substitute for CRITERION that 
   suggests quantity more often than quality; TOUCHSTONE suggests a simple 
   test for determining the authenticity or value of something intangible SYN 
   syn STANDARD, CRITERION, GAUGE, YARDSTICK, TO 
2. standard aj 1: constituting or affording a standard for comparison or 
   judgment  2a: having qualities or attributes required by law or established 
   by custo m {window of ~ width} 2b: sound and usable but of inferior quality 
   {~ beef}  3: regularly and widely used  4: having recognized and permanent 
   value {~ reference work}  5: substantially uniform and well-established by 
   usage in the speech and w riting of the educated and widely recognized as 
   acceptable