Template

noun
1.
a pattern, mold, or the like, usually consisting of a thin plate of wood or metal, serving as a gauge or guide in mechanical work.
2.
anything that determines or serves as a pattern; a model:
You can use my notes as a template for employee evaluations.
3.
Building Trades. a horizontal piece, as of timber or stone, in a wall, to receive and distribute the pressure of a girder, beam, or the like.
4.
Shipbuilding. either of two wedges in each of the temporary blocks forming the support for the keel of a ship while building.
5.
Aerial Photogrammetry. any object having lines, slots, or straightedges to represent lines radiating from the center of a photograph, used for graphic triangulation.
6.
Genetics. a strand of DNA or RNA that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of a complementary strand of nucleic acid or protein.
7.
Computers.

a small sheet or strip of cardboard, plastic, or the like, that fits over a portion of the keyboard and provides ready reference to the keystroke commands of a particular software program.
an electronic file with a predesigned, customized format and structure, as for a fax, letter, or expense report, ready to be filled in.

8.
Also called safe. a marble base for a toilet.
noun
1.
a gauge or pattern, cut out in wood or metal, used in woodwork, etc, to help shape something accurately
2.
a pattern cut out in card or plastic, used in various crafts to reproduce shapes
3.
a short beam, made of metal, wood, or stone, that is used to spread a load, as over a doorway
4.
(biochem) the molecular structure of a compound that serves as a pattern for the production of the molecular structure of another specific compound in a reaction

template tem·plate or tem·plet (těm’plĭt)
n.

A pattern or gauge, such as a thin metal plate with a cut pattern, used as a guide in making something accurately, as in woodworking.

A molecule, such as DNA, that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of a macromolecule, as of RNA.

template
(těm’plĭt)
A molecule of a nucleic acid, such as DNA, that serves as a pattern for the synthesis of another molecule of a nucleic acid.
document processing
A document that contains parameters, identified by some special syntax, that are replaced by actual arguments by the template processing system. For example:
Dear , would like to invite you to a party at on at .
Where the words in angle brackets are the parameters to be replaced by the name of an actual guest, etc.
More sophisticated systems allow repetition, where a section is repeated in a single output document using a list of inputs; conditional sections or (nested) inclusion of other templates.
See also class template.
(2007-10-14)