c Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
    degree centigrade; degree Celsius.
  2. noun the speed at which light travels in a vacuum; the constancy and universality of the speed of light is recognized by defining it to be exactly 299,792,458 meters per second
    speed of light; light speed.
  3. noun a vitamin found in fresh fruits (especially citrus fruits) and vegetables; prevents scurvy
    vitamin C; ascorbic acid.
  4. noun one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
    deoxycytidine monophosphate.
  5. noun a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with guanine
    cytosine.
  6. noun an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds
    carbon; atomic number 6.
  7. noun ten 10s
    one C; 100; hundred; century.
  8. noun a unit of electrical charge equal to the amount of charge transferred by a current of 1 ampere in 1 second
    ampere-second; coulomb.
  9. noun a general-purpose programing language closely associated with the UNIX operating system
  10. noun (music) the keynote of the scale of C major
  11. noun the 3rd letter of the Roman alphabet
  12. noun street names for cocaine
    blow; coke; nose candy; snow.
  13. adjective satellite being ten more than ninety
    100; hundred; one hundred.

WordNet

C
Definitions
  1. C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the sounds of k, and g (in go); its original value being the latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k. The Latin C was the same letter as the Greek Γ, γ, and came from the Greek alphabet. The Greek got it from the Phoenicians. The English name of C is from the Latin name ce, and was derived, probably, through the French. Etymologically C is related to g, h, k, q, s (and other sibilant sounds). Examples of these relations are in L. acutus, E. acute, ague; E. acrid, eagar; L. cornu, E. horn; E. cat, kitten; E. coy, quiet; L. circare, OF. cerchier, E. search. See Guide to Pronunciation, tt 221-228.
  2. (Mus.) (a) The keynote of the normal or "natural" scale, which has neither flats nor sharps in its signature; also, the third note of the relative minor scale of the same (b) C after the clef is the mark of common time, in which each measure is a semibreve (four fourths or crotchets); for alla breve time it is written (c) The "C clef," a modification of the letter C, placed on any line of the staff, abows that line to be middle C.
  3. As a numeral, C stands for Latin centum or 100, CC for 200, etc.

Webster 1913