# topic

Pronunciation: say "TOP-ik" US /ˈtɑpɪk/, UK /ˈtɒpɪk/

## Noun

1. The subject or theme of a discussion or piece of writing, or a general area of interest.
   - Simple: The subject that people talk about, write about, or think about.
   - _The committee moved on to the next topic on the agenda._
   - _Several unrelated topics came up during the long interview._
2. A thread of messages on an online forum, all dealing with a single subject.
   - Simple: A set of messages about one subject on a website or forum.
   - _A moderator locked the topic after the argument got heated._
   - _She accidentally posted her question in the wrong topic._
3. A messaging component, similar to a message queue, that delivers each published message to multiple subscribers.
   - Simple: In computer systems, a channel that sends each message to many listeners at once.
   - _Each service subscribes to the topic to receive new order events._
   - _The system publishes notifications to a topic that thousands of clients monitor._
4. A musical figure or sign meant to suggest a particular style or genre to the listener.
   - Simple: In music, a short pattern that makes listeners think of a certain style.
   - _The slow movement opens with a pastoral topic evoking the countryside._
   - _Analysts traced several hunting topics woven through the symphony._

## Noun

5. An argument or reason advanced in support of a position. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A reason or argument used to prove something is true.
6. A remedy applied externally to a particular spot on the body, such as a plaster or a blistering agent. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A medicine put on the outside of the body, such as a skin plaster.
   - _The surgeon applied a topic to the inflamed joint each evening._
   - _Among his remedies were several topics for drawing out infection._

## Origin

From Latin 'topica', from Ancient Greek 'topikós' ('pertaining to a place, local, or topical'), which comes from 'tópos' ('a place'), a word of Pre-Greek origin.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/topic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).