member

Less common meanings

4. 4
   programmingnouncountable

   A function or piece of data declared as part of a class, belonging either to each instance of the class or to the class itself.

   Each member of the class can be accessed through the object.

   Private members are hidden from code outside the class.

   Note

   Object-oriented programmers use the word for variables and functions declared as part of a class, belonging to each of its instances or, for static members, to the class itself. The usual qualifiers are about access. Visibility modifiers such as public, private and protected decide which code may reach a member. So "private members" means parts of the class normally hidden from outside code, not a restricted group of people. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Classes can declare things that are not members. In Java, constructors and initializers are not members; fields, methods and nested types are members. docs.oracle.com
   • Instance members belong to instances, while static members belong to the class itself. oracle.com
   • Access modifiers such as public, private and protected control access to members. oracle.com
   • Private members have restricted access, but some outside code can receive access. In C++, friends can access private members. learn.microsoft.com
5. 5
   limbnouncountable

   A limb or organ of the body, considered as performing a distinct function.

   For as we haue many members in one body, and all members haue not the same office:

   1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version

   Similarlimb

   Note

   The King James Bible of 1611 gives the classic statement: "we haue many members in one body, and all members haue not the same office." What makes a body part a member is its office, its distinct job. So the word stretches to organs as readily as to limbs. The line already reads like a description of a community, and that is the picture behind belonging to a group. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted words occur in Romans 12:4 in the 1611 King James Bible. kingjamesbibleonline.org
   • The passage connects bodily members with membership of a community. en.wikisource.org
6. 6
   penisnouneuphemisticcountable

   A polite or indirect word for the penis.

   If your wife is old and your member is exhausted, eat onions in plenty.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs

   Similarpenis, organ

   Note

   The euphemism works by vagueness: a word for any body part is narrowed by context to one. That makes it usable where blunter words are not. Harry E. Wedeck's Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs (1961) quotes Martial's advice to eat onions in plenty when "your member is exhausted." Because the same word also means someone in a group, the fuller phrase virile member or male member removes any accidental double meaning. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Harry E. Wedeck wrote Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, first published in 1961. en.wikipedia.org
   • Wedeck's book contains the quoted wording about an exhausted member and eating onions in plenty. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   equation sidenouncountable

   Either of the two expressions on opposite sides of the equality sign in an equation.

   Similarside

   Note

   An equation has exactly two members, one on each side of the equality sign. That is why left member and right member are the natural ways to point to them, with side as the everyday equivalent. The word suits the balance at the heart of algebra: an operation applied identically to both members preserves the equation's truth. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • An equation has two sides, corresponding to its two members. en.wikipedia.org
   • Applying the same operation to both members preserves equality, assuming the operation is defined. en.wikipedia.org
8. 8
   archive filenouncountable

   An individual file contained within an archive file.

   The tool lists every member of the archive before extraction.

   Corrupted members cannot be unpacked from the archive.

   Similarfile, entry

   Note

   Archive tools use the word for each file packed inside a container such as a zip or tar file. Each member can be listed or extracted on its own, along with its metadata. The count goes with the archive, as in a tar file with a dozen members. In standard tool documentation, the individual files inside are called its members. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Archive members can be listed or extracted individually, with file metadata. docs.python.org
   • Member is established terminology, but the exclusion is false: GNU ar documentation also calls archive members elements. sourceware.org
9. 9
   logic premisenouncountable

   In logic, any one of the propositions that together form a syllogism.

   Similarpremise

   Note

   Logic applies the part-and-whole idea to an argument. A syllogism is built from propositions, and each one counts as a member of it. Its two supporting propositions are called premises, also spelled premisses. When referring to either supporting proposition, premise is the safer choice, because logic and mathematics textbooks also use the set-theory sense of the same word. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

   • A syllogism is composed of propositions. read.aupress.ca
   • Each proposition forming a syllogism can be called a member. en.wiktionary.org
   • Premise and premiss designate a supporting proposition; the conclusion is also a member of the syllogism but is not a premise. read.aupress.ca
   • Premiss is an alternative spelling of premise. en.wiktionary.org
   • Logic textbooks use member in the set-theory sense. builds.openlogicproject.org
   • Mathematics textbooks use member in the set-theory sense. openstax.org
10. 10
    consumer judgenounAustraliacountable

    In Australia, an adjudicator who hears and decides cases in a tribunal, such as one handling consumer or tenancy disputes.

    The member dismissed the complaint for lack of evidence.

    At the tenancy hearing, the landlord and the renter each put their case to the tribunal member, who reserved her decision.

    Similarjudge, adjudicator

    Note

    Australian legal usage turns the word into a job title. In tribunals such as those for consumer and tenancy disputes, the person who hears and decides the case is called the member. Parties present their arguments to the member, and the ruling is the member's decision. Readers outside that system may at first take it to mean someone belonging to a body rather than the adjudicator presiding over it. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Australian tribunals have adjudicators called members who hear and decide cases. ncat.nsw.gov.au
    • Members adjudicate consumer and tenancy disputes. ncat.nsw.gov.au
    • Parties present their cases to the member. ncat.nsw.gov.au
    • The member makes the decision. ncat.nsw.gov.au
11. 11
    noun

    A distinct part of a discourse, period, sentence, or verse; a clause.