compile

      See also compilé

      English

      Etymology

      from Old French compiler (early 14c.), from Latin compilo (“heap, plunder”)

      Pronunciation

      Verb

      compile (third-person singular simple present compiles, present participle compiling, simple past and past participle compiled)

      1. (transitive) To put together; to assemble; to make by gathering things from various sources.
        Samuel Johnson compiled one of the most influential dictionaries of the English language.
      2. (obsolete) To construct, build.
        • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.3:
          Before that Merlin dyde, he did intend / A brasen wall in compas to compyle / About Cairmardin [...].
      3. (transitive, computing) To use a compiler to process source code and produce executable code.
        After I compile this program I'll run it and see if it works.
      4. (intransitive, computing) To be successfully processed by a compiler into executable code.
        There must be an error in my source code because it won't compile.
      5. (obsolete, transitive) To contain or comprise.
        • Spenser
          Which these six books compile.
      6. (obsolete) To write; to compose.
        (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir W. Temple to this entry?)

      Derived terms

      Translations

      assemble from a collection
      produce executable

      Noun

      compile (plural compiles)

      1. (computing) An act of compiling code.
        • 1985, Robert A Stern, An Introduction to Computers and Information Processing
          ...programming team managers assumed the "improved programs" produced through structured programming would not require as many compiles during development.
        • 2007, Scott Meyers, Mike Lee, MAC OS X Leopard: Beyond the Manual
          Any file with an error or warning on it will be added to this smart group until the next compile.

      Anagrams

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      French

      Verb

      compile

      1. first-person singular present indicative of compiler
      2. third-person singular present indicative of compiler
      3. first-person singular present subjunctive of compiler
      4. third-person singular present subjunctive of compiler
      5. second-person singular imperative of compiler
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      Spanish

      Verb

      compile (infinitive compilar)

      1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of compilar.
      2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of compilar.
      3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of compilar.
      4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of compilar.
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      Last modified on 18 June 2013, at 20:30