message

[mes-ij] /ˈmɛs ɪdʒ/
noun
1.
a communication containing some information, news, advice, request, or the like, sent by messenger, radio, telephone, or other means.
2.
an official communication, as from a chief executive to a legislative body:
the president's message to Congress.
3.
the inspired utterance of a prophet or sage.
4.
Computers. one or more words taken as a unit.
5.
the point, moral, or meaning of a gesture, utterance, novel, motion picture, etc.
Idioms
6.
get the message, Informal. to understand or comprehend, especially to infer the correct meaning from circumstances, hints, etc.:
If we don't invite him to the party, maybe he'll get the message.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Old French < Vulgar Latin *missāticum, equivalent to Latin miss(us) sent (past participle of mittere to send) + -āticum -age
Related forms
intermessage, noun
Can be confused
massage, message.
Examples from the web for message
  • The work is a meditation on the nature of secrecy and the elusiveness of truth, its message written entirely in code.
  • In this case, the message is written with a four-letter alphabet.
  • The point being that a play doesn't necessarily have an obligation to convey a moral, social, or political message.
  • message and presentation were inextricably intertwined, with the latter lending power, impact and even meaning to the former.
  • When enough redundant words are added, the meaning of the message becomes unique.
  • Send secret messages to your friends with secret codes and ciphers.
  • The message was painted on the roof of a splintered and sunken house.
  • It seems that it can adopt liberal or nationalist rhetoric with equal ease to push its message of strength and power.
  • Could be subliminal messages playing with your mind.
  • We know they use chemicals to send messages to one another.
British Dictionary definitions for message

message

/ˈmɛsɪdʒ/
noun
1.
a communication, usually brief, from one person or group to another
2.
an implicit meaning or moral, as in a work of art
3.
a formal communiqué
4.
an inspired communication of a prophet or religious leader
5.
a mission; errand
6.
(pl) (Scot) shopping: going for the messages
7.
(informal) get the message, to understand what is meant
verb
8.
(transitive) to send as a message, esp to signal (a plan, etc)
Word Origin
C13: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin missāticum (unattested) something sent, from Latin missus, past participle of mittere to send
Word Origin and History for message
n.

c.1300, "communication transmitted via a messenger," from Old French message "message, news, tidings, embassy" (11c.), from Medieval Latin missaticum, from Latin missus "a sending away, sending, despatching; a throwing, hurling," noun use of past participle of mittere "to send" (see mission). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by ærende. Specific religious sense of "divinely inspired communication via a prophet" (1540s) led to transferred sense of "the broad meaning (of something)," first attested 1828. To get the message "understand" is from 1960.

v.

"to send messages," 1580s, from message (n.). Related: Messaged; messaging.

Slang definitions & phrases for message

message

verb

To send a message on the Internet •The sense ''to send a message'' is found by 1583: '' I need to do it,'' Baker messaged a man with whom he had been discussing rape, torture, and murder (1990s+ Computer)


message in Technology


In object-oriented programming sending a message to an object (to invoke a method) is equivalent to calling a procedure in traditional programming languages, except that the actual code executed may only be selected at run time depending on the class of the object. Thus, in response to the message "drawSelf", the method code invoked would be different if the target object were a circle or a square.
(1995-02-16)

Idioms and Phrases with message

message

see: get the message