Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Serving as or conforming to an established or accepted measurement or value.
  • adjective Widely recognized or employed as a model of authority or excellence.
  • adjective Acceptable but of less than top quality.
  • adjective Normal, familiar, or usual.
  • adjective Commonly used or supplied.
  • adjective Linguistics Conforming to models or norms of usage admired by educated speakers and writers.
  • noun An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion. synonym: ideal.
  • noun An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit.
  • noun The commodity or commodities used to back a monetary system.
  • noun The set proportion by weight of gold or silver to alloy metal prescribed for use in coinage.
  • noun A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment.
  • noun Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence.
  • noun A set of specifications that are adopted within an industry to allow compatibility between products.
  • noun A requirement of moral conduct.
  • noun A flag, banner, or ensign, especially.
  • noun The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city.
  • noun A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation.
  • noun An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle.
  • noun The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit.
  • noun Chiefly British A grade level in elementary schools.
  • noun A pedestal, stand, or base.
  • noun The large upper petal of the flower of a pea or related plant.
  • noun One of the narrow upright petals of an iris.
  • noun A shrub or small tree that through grafting or training has a single stem of limited height with a crown of leaves and flowers at its apex.
  • noun Music A composition that is continually used in repertoires.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A weight, measure, or instrument by comparison with which the accuracy of others is determined; especially, an original standard or prototype, one the weight or measure of which is the definition of a unit of weight or measure, so that all standards of the same denomination are copies of it. The only original standard of the United States is a troy pound. See pound, yard, meter.
  • noun In coinage, the proportion of weight of fine metal and alloy established by authority.
  • noun That which is set up as a unit of reference; a form, type, example, instance, or combination of conditions accepted as correct and perfect, and hence as a basis of comparison; a criterion established by custom, public opinion, or general consent; a model.
  • noun A grade; a rank; specifically, in British elementary schools, one of the grades or degrees of attainment according to which the pupils are classified.
  • Serving as a standard or authority; regarded as a type or model; hence, of the highest order; of great worth or excellence.
  • noun An upright; a small post or pillar; an upright stem constituting the support or the main part of a utensil.
  • noun In carpentry, any upright in a framing, as the quarters of partitions, or the frame of a door.
  • noun In ship-building, an inverted knee placed on the deck instead of beneath it.
  • noun That part of a plow to which the mold-board is attached.
  • noun In a vehicle: A support for the hammer-cloth, or a support for the footman's board. See cut under coach.
  • noun An upright rising from the end of the bolster to hold the body laterally.
  • noun In horticulture: A tree or shrub which stands alone, without being attached to any wall or support, as distinguished from an espalier or a cordon.
  • noun A shrub, as a rose, grafted on an upright stem, or trained to a single stem in tree form.
  • noun A stand or frame; a horse.
  • noun A large chest, generally used for carrying plate, jewels, and articles of value, but sometimes for linen.
  • noun A standing cup; a large drinking-cup.
  • noun The chief dish at a meal.
  • noun A suit; a set. Compare stand, n., 11.
  • noun One who stands or continues in a place; one who is in permanent residence, membership, or service.
  • Standing; upright; specifically, in horticulture, standing alone; not trained upon a wall or other support: as, standard roses.
  • noun In horticulture, a fruit-tree that grows to its normal size, that is, is not dwarfed; in Great Britain, a tree or other plant that is grown to a single trunk, in distinction from one that is grown in bush form.
  • noun In forestry, a tree from 1 to 2 feet in diameter, breast-high.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, flag, banner, standard measure (perhaps from the use of flags as points of reference in battle) , from Old French estandard, flag marking a rallying place, from Frankish *standhard, probably originally meaning standing firmly, steadfast : *standan, to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots + *hard, firm, hard; see kar- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from the Old French estandart ("gathering place, battle flag"), from Old Frankish *standhard (literally "stand firm, stand hard"), equivalent to stand +‎ -ard. Alternate etymology derives the second element from Old Frankish *ord ("point, spot, place") (compare Old English ord ("point, source, vanguard"), German Standort ("location, place, site, position, base", literally "standing-point")). More at stand, hard, ord.From Old French estendre ("to stretch out"), from Latin extendere, More at extend.

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  • STandARd. Routine v. outstanding

    April 26, 2008