measure

measure

measure, in music, a metrical unit having a given number of beats, the first of which normally is accented, although the accent may be displaced by syncopation. Measures are separated on the staff by vertical lines called bars. The term bar has become synonymous with measure. The consistent division of music into measures with regularly recurring accent did not become prevalent until the 17th cent. See also meter and rhythm.

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Measure

A reference sample used in comparing lengths, areas, volumes, masses, and the like. The measures employed in scientific work are based on the international units of length, mass, and time—the meter, the kilogram, and the second—but decimal multiples and submultiples are commonly employed. Prior to the development of the international metric system, many special-purpose systems of measures had evolved and many still survive, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States. See Metric system, Physical measurement, Time, Units of measurement, Weight

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Physics. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Measure

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The measure is a magical measurement of "the whole person," used in Witchcraft. It is usually taken at the Initiation ritual and is done using a length of thread equal to the height of the individual. Knots are then tied in the thread, marking such points as chest and waist circumferences. The whole measure is then wound into a tight ball and touched on a point on the individual's body where blood has been let. It is then given to the leader of the coven for safekeeping. This ritual was intended to ensure the loyalty of the new member, who knew that such a measure could be used magically if there were ever proof of disloyalty.

The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-paganism © 2002 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Measure

 

a philosophical category that expresses the dialectical unity of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of an object.

The quality of any object is organically related to a definite quantity (of properties, aspects, indicators, dimensions, number of components of a given system). Quantitative characteristics within the scope of a given measure may vary as a result of a change in the number, dimensions, order of relation of the elements, speed, and degree of development. A measure indicates the limit beyond which a change in quantity implies a change in the quality of the object and conversely. Consequently, measure is a zone or a range within which a given quality can be modified, while retaining its essential characteristics. Measure manifests itself also as congruousness; for example, gracefulness manifests itself as the-congruousness and harmony in the motion of a body. Measure is the basis of rhythm, harmony, and melody in music and is essential in the creation of a pleasing architectural ensemble. Measure is also used in measurement as a standard unit with which a measured object is correlated and compared.

The category of measure is of basic theoretical and practical importance. The determination of measure in any form of activity is a prerequisite for its success. It is impossible to know an object without clarifying its qualitative and quantitative characteristics in their unity.

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Measure

 

(also bar), in music, a metrical unit. The length of a measure is indicated by the time signature—a fraction or special symbol, for example, , printed on the staff at the beginning of a composition and at every change in meter. The boundaries of a measure are indicated in musical notation by vertical lines called bar lines.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

measure

[′mezh·ər]

(mathematics)

A nonnegative real valued function m defined on a sigma-algebra of subsets of a set S whose value is zero on the empty set, and whose value on a countable union of disjoint sets is the sum of its values on each set.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

measure

1. a legislative bill, act, or resolution

2. Music another word for bar

3. Prosody poetic rhythm or cadence; metre

4. a metrical foot

5. Poetic a melody or tune

6. Archaic a dance

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

measure

(testing)

To ascertain or appraise by comparing to a standard; to apply a metric.

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