templates

Noun

template (plural templates)

1. A physical object whose shape is used as a guide to make other objects.
2. A generic model or pattern from which other objects are based or derived.
   • Gaelic also benefits from having a readily available template for Celtic minority language revitalisation, derived from Welsh and Irish.2023, Clive Young, “chapter one: How Scots Works”, in Unlocking Scots: The Secret Life of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Luath Press Limited, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 29
3. A file or document serving as a basis for others.
4. (molecular biology) A macromolecule which provides a pattern for the synthesis of another molecule.
   • Classically, the functional product of coding genes is a protein whose synthesis is directed by an mRNA-template.2002, S. Lottin et al., “Thioredoxin post-transcriptional regulation by H19 provides a new function to mRNA-like non-coding RNA”, in Nature, volume 21, number 10
5. (object-oriented programming) A partially defined class or function, that can be instantiated in a variety of ways depending on the instantiation arguments.
6. A strip of metal used in boiler-making, pierced with a series of holes, and serving as a guide in marking out a line of rivet-holes.

See all 10 meanings of template