quine

C2 Topic:Technology & Computing

US /kwaɪn/ UK /kwaɪn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a self-replicating program or statement that outputs its own source code

The program is a quine, outputting its own source code.
2

noun
a philosopher, particularly W. V. O. Quine, known for work in logic and philosophy of language

Quine challenged the analytic-synthetic distinction.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a self-replicating program... self-replicating programself-referential program

Etymology

Coined in computing in honor of the philosopher and logician Willard Van Orman Quine, whose work on self-reference inspired the term for a program that prints its own source code.

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# quine

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kwaɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /kwaɪn/

## Meanings
1. a self-replicating program or statement that outputs its own source code
2. a philosopher, particularly W. V. O. Quine, known for work in logic and philosophy of language

## Examples
- The program is a quine, outputting its own source code.
- Quine challenged the analytic-synthetic distinction.

## Synonyms
- self-replicating program
- self-referential program

## Etymology
Coined in computing in honor of the philosopher and logician Willard Van Orman Quine, whose work on self-reference inspired the term for a program that prints its own source code.

## AI Etymology
Quine was coined in computing in honor of the philosopher and logician Willard Van Orman Quine, whose work on self-reference inspired the term for a program that prints its own source code. In current use it is a noun meaning "a self-replicating program or statement that outputs its own source code". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is chiefly morphological, explaining how the modern form packages an older base into its present English use. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Technology & Computing
- Abstract Ideas

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quine

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