template

[tem-plit] /ˈtɛm plɪt/
noun
1.
a pattern, mold, or the like, usually consisting of a thin plate of wood or metal, serving as a gauge or guide in mechanical work.
2.
anything that determines or serves as a pattern; a model:
You can use my notes as a template for employee evaluations.
3.
Building Trades. a horizontal piece, as of timber or stone, in a wall, to receive and distribute the pressure of a girder, beam, or the like.
4.
Shipbuilding. either of two wedges in each of the temporary blocks forming the support for the keel of a ship while building.
5.
Aerial Photogrammetry. any object having lines, slots, or straightedges to represent lines radiating from the center of a photograph, used for graphic triangulation.
6.
Genetics. a strand of DNA or RNA that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of a complementary strand of nucleic acid or protein.
7.
Computers.
  1. a small sheet or strip of cardboard, plastic, or the like, that fits over a portion of the keyboard and provides ready reference to the keystroke commands of a particular software program.
  2. an electronic file with a predesigned, customized format and structure, as for a fax, letter, or expense report, ready to be filled in.
8.
Also called safe. a marble base for a toilet.
Also, templet.
Origin
1670-80; alteration of templet, apparently by falsely etymologizing final syllable as plate1
Examples from the web for template
  • While electronic presentations can require a lot of drudgery, much of it can be eliminated with the use of a template.
  • Ask your teaching centre at your university for a template and then develop something.
  • The third template is the boutique-a firm that specialises in a niche area such as emerging markets.
  • Using the resource web template as a guideline, ask each of the groups to develop their own resource web on the paper.
  • One chain can thus be used as a template to construct its partner.
  • At the chosen height, hold the cardboard template that comes with the lockset against the door.
  • There's even a template to create a fake funeral program.
  • The second stage was to transfer the gold from the stencil to a screen by pressing the template into it.
  • Follow the steps to tell your own story on a printable subway map template.
  • The second stage was to transfer the gold from the stencil to a screen, or substrate, by pressing the template onto it.
British Dictionary definitions for template

template

/ˈtɛmplɪt/
noun
1.
a gauge or pattern, cut out in wood or metal, used in woodwork, etc, to help shape something accurately
2.
a pattern cut out in card or plastic, used in various crafts to reproduce shapes
3.
a short beam, made of metal, wood, or stone, that is used to spread a load, as over a doorway
4.
(biochem) the molecular structure of a compound that serves as a pattern for the production of the molecular structure of another specific compound in a reaction
Word Origin
C17 templet (later spelling influenced by plate), probably from French, diminutive of temple³
Word Origin and History for template
n.

1670s, templet "horizontal piece under a girder or beam," probably from French templet "weaver's stretcher," diminutive of temple, which meant the same thing, from Latin templum "plank, rafter," also "building for worship" (see temple (n.1)).

The meaning "pattern or gauge for shaping a piece of work" is first recorded 1819 in this form, earlier temple (1680s); the form was altered 1844, probably influenced by plate, but the pronunciation did not begin to shift until much more recently.

template in Medicine

template tem·plate or tem·plet (těm'plĭt)
n.

  1. A pattern or gauge, such as a thin metal plate with a cut pattern, used as a guide in making something accurately, as in woodworking.

  2. A molecule, such as DNA, that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of a macromolecule, as of RNA.

template in Science
template
  (těm'plĭt)   
A molecule of a nucleic acid, such as DNA, that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of another molecule of a nucleic acid.
template in Technology
document processing
A document that contains parameters, identified by some special syntax, that are replaced by actual arguments by the template processing system. For example:
Dear , would like to invite you to a party at on at