standard
stan·dard
noun
a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated
- “the schools comply with federal standards”
- “they set the measure for all subsequent work”
an upright pole or beam (especially one used as a support)
- “distance was marked by standards every mile”
- “lamps supported on standards provided illumination”
any distinctive flag
adjective
conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind
- “windows of standard width”
- “standard sizes”
- “the standard fixtures”
- “standard brands”
- “standard operating procedure”
established or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence
- “a standard reference work”
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
- “standard English”
- “received standard English is sometimes called the King”
Origin
From Middle English standard, from Old French estandart (“gathering place, battle flag”), from Frankish *standahard (literally “stand firm, stand hard”), equivalent to stand + -ard. An alternative etymology derives the second element from Frankish *oʀd (“point, spot, place”) (compare Old French ordé (“pointed”), Old English ord (“point, source, vanguard”), German Standort (“location, place, site, position, base”, literally “standing-point”)). Merged with Middle English standar, stander, standere (“flag, banner”, literally “stander”), equivalent to stand + -er. More at stand, hard, ord. As a hill-naming term possibly a calque from Cumbric; equivalent to Welsh lluman (“standard”), arising with confusion with the hill-naming element llumon (“chimney”).
Phrases
- box standard
- boxed standard
- Daubert standard
- dog standard
- gold bullion standard
- horizontal standard
- international standard
- living standard
- Maoist Standard English
- mean standard
- perfect gold standard test
- Potter Stewart standard
Related words
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.