| indent | 1. To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth; as, to indent the edge of paper. 2. To dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress; as, indent a smooth surface with a hammer; to indent wax with a stamp. 3. [Cf. Indenture] To bind out by indenture or contract; to indenture; to apprentice; as, to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant. 4. To begin (a line or lines) at a greater or less distance from the margin; as, to indent the first line of a paragraph one em; to indent the second paragraph two ems more than the first. See Indentation, and Indention. 5. To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores. Origin: OE. Endenten to notch, fit in, OF. Endenter, LL. Indentare, fr. L. In + dens, dentis, tooth. See Tooth, and cf. Indenture. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| indentation | 1. The act of indenting or state of being indented. 2. A notch or recess, in the margin or border of anything; as, the indentations of a leaf, of the coast, etc. 3. A recess or sharp depression in any surface. 4. The act of beginning a line or series of lines at a little distance within the flush line of the column or page, as in the common way of beginning the first line of a paragraph. The measure of the distance; as, an indentation of one em, or of two ems. Hanging, or Reverse, indentation, indentation of all the lines of a paragraph except the first, which is a full line. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| indented | 1. Cut in the edge into points or inequalities, like teeth; jagged; notched; stamped in; dented on the surface. 2. Having an uneven, irregular border; sinuous; undulating. 3. Notched like the part of a saw consisting of the teeth; serrated; as, an indented border or ordinary. 4. Bound out by an indenture; apprenticed; indentured; as, an indented servant. 5. <ornithology, zoology> Notched along the margin with a different colour, as the feathers of some birds. Indented line, a line with alternate long and short faces, with salient and receding angles, each face giving a flanking fire along the front of the next. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |