design definition

English design definition

Etymology

From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“I mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“I mark”), from signum (“mark”). Doublet of designate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈzaɪn/
• Hyphenation: de‧sign

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪn

Noun

design (countable and uncountable, plural designs)

1. A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
2. A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.

   The initial design of the park was rejected for being too expensive.

3. A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.

   We're working on some new designs for our range of summer shirts

4. The composition of a work of art.
5. Intention or plot.

   We have designs on winning the league next season.

   To be hateful of the truth by design.

   • 1763, Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, History of Louisisana (PG), p. 40:

     I give it you without any other design than to shew you that I reckon nothing dear to me, when I want to do you a pleasure.

   • 1762, Charles Johnstone, The Reverie; or, A Flight to the Paradise of Fools‎^[1], volume 2, Dublin: Printed by Dillon Chamberlaine, OCLC 519072825, page 202:

     At length, one night, when the company by ſome accident broke up much ſooner than ordinary, ſo that the candles were not half burnt out, ſhe was not able to reſiſt the temptation, but reſolved to have them ſome way or other. Accordingly, as ſoon as the hurry was over, and the ſervants, as ſhe thought, all gone to ſleep, ſhe ſtole out of her bed, and went down ſtairs, naked to her ſhift as ſhe was, with a deſign to ſteal them […]

   • 2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     Lisicki will rise from her current ranking of 62 to at least 35 in the world on the back of her efforts at the All England Club, but she will have serious designs on a first Grand Slam title after overcoming the 2007 runner-up.

   1. (particularly) Malicious or malevolent intention.

      To have evil designs.

6. The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎^[3]:

     He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.

7. The art of designing

   Danish furniture design is world-famous.

Synonyms

• (plan): See Thesaurus:diagram
• (intention): See Thesaurus:design

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

design (third-person singular simple present designs, present participle designing, simple past and past participle designed)

1. (transitive) To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.). [from 17th c.]
   • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

     She designed his retirement from the Royal Irish Artillery, and had negociated an immediate berth for him on the Staff of the Commander of the Forces, and a prospective one in the household of Lord Townshend […]

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess‎^[4]:

     The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

2. (obsolete, intransitive) To plan (to do something).

   The king designed to mount an expedition to the New World.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To assign, appoint (something to someone); to designate. [16th-19th c.]
   • 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.10:

     he looks not below the Moon, but hath designed the regiment of sublunary affairs unto inferiour deputations.

   • 1700, John Dryden, Translations from Ovid's Epistles, Preface

     He was designed to the study of the law.

4. (obsolete, transitive) To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.
5. To manifest requirements to be satisfied by an object or process for them to solve a problem.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     We shall see / Justice design the victor's chivalry.

   • 1616–1619 (first performance)​, John Fletcher; Philip Massinger; Nathan Field, “The Knight of Malta”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, OCLC 3083972, Act I, scene iii:

     Meet me to-morrow where the master / And this fraternity shall design.

Derived terms

• designable
• designed
• designedly
• designer
• foredesign
• outdesign
• overdesign
• predesign
• redesign
• undesignable
• undesigned
• undesignedly

Translations

Further reading

• design in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• design in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• design at OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Edgins, deigns, dinges, gnides, nidges, sdeign, signed, singed

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Czech design definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɪzajn]

Noun

design m

1. design

Declension

Further reading

• design in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
• design in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

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Dutch design definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diˈzɑi̯n/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧sign

Noun

design n (plural designs)

1. design

Synonyms

• ontwerp

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Finnish design definition

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdisɑi̯n/, [ˈdis̠ɑi̯n]

Noun

design

1. design

   Synonym: suunnittelu

Declension

Inflection of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		design	designit
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designia	designeja
illative		designiin	designeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		design	designit
accusative	nom.	design	designit
	gen.	designin
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designia	designeja
inessive		designissa	designeissa
elative		designista	designeista
illative		designiin	designeihin
adessive		designilla	designeilla
ablative		designilta	designeilta
allative		designille	designeille
essive		designina	designeina
translative		designiksi	designeiksi
instructive		—	designein
abessive		designitta	designeitta
comitative		—	designeineen

Possessive forms of design (type risti)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	designini	designimme
2nd person	designisi	designinne
3rd person	designinsa

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French design definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English design. Doublet of dessein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.zajn/

Noun

design m (plural designs)

1. design

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Hungarian design definition

Alternative forms

• dizájn

Etymology

Borrowed from English design, from Latin designō (“I mark out, describe, plan”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdizaːjn]
• Hyphenation: de‧sign
• Rhymes: -aːjn

Noun

design (plural designok)

1. design (art and profession of designing functional objects such as furniture, vehicles, household appliances, etc.)

   Synonym: formatervezés

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	design	designok
accusative	designt	designokat
dative	designnak	designoknak
instrumental	designnal	designokkal
causal-final	designért	designokért
translative	designná	designokká
terminative	designig	designokig
essive-formal	designként	designokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	designban	designokban
superessive	designon	designokon
adessive	designnál	designoknál
illative	designba	designokba
sublative	designra	designokra
allative	designhoz	designokhoz
elative	designból	designokból
delative	designról	designokról
ablative	designtól	designoktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	designé	designoké
non-attributive possessive - plural	designéi	designokéi

Possessive forms of design
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	designom	designjaim
2nd person sing.	designod	designjaid
3rd person sing.	designja	designjai
1st person plural	designunk	designjaink
2nd person plural	designotok	designjaitok
3rd person plural	designjuk	designjaik

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Italian design definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈzajn/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ajn

Noun

design m (invariable)

1. design (industrial)

References

Anagrams

• sdegni

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Norwegian Bokmål design definition

Verb

design

1. imperative of designe

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Portuguese design definition

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design. Doublet of desenhar and designar.

Pronunciation

Noun

design m (plural designs)

1. design (plan for the structure and functions of an object or system)

   Synonyms: projeto, desenho

2. design (aesthetically pleasing shape or appearance of an object)
3. design (the art of designing aesthetically pleasing things)

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Romanian design definition

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Noun

design n (uncountable)

1. design

Declension

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Swedish design definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛˈsajn/

Noun

design c

1. a design

Declension

Declension of design
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	design	designen	designer	designerna
Genitive	designs	designens	designers	designernas

Related terms

• designa
• designer
• designpris

Anagrams

• gnides