access
noun
- set of mechanisms by which a target can be reached
- right, permission, or ability to approach, enter, or interact with something
verb
- to gain admission to
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈæksɛs/ / /ˈækˌsɛs/ / /əkˈsɛs/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.
- A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.
“The door provides access to the premises.”
“All access was thronged.”
- The act of approaching or entering; an advance.
“They gained access to the basement from the stairs.”
- The right or ability of approaching or entering; admittance; admission; accessibility.
“Staff prevent unauthorized access to the building.”
- The quality of being easy to approach or enter.
“ease of access”
“I did repel his fetters, and denied His access to me.”
- Admission to sexual intercourse.
“During coverture, access of the husband shall be presumed, unless the contrary be shown.”
- An increase by addition; accession
“an access of territory”
“I, from the influence of thy looks, receive access in every virtue.”
- An onset, attack, or fit of disease; an ague fit.
“The first access looked like an apoplexy.”
“Then he resumed the pose, the decent pose, from which the sudden access of his old trouble had startled him, his hands on his knees, […]”
- An outburst of an emotion; a paroxysm; a fit of passion.
“The Magpie's flashlight, as he shifted it from his right hand to his left and wrenched out his revolver, had fallen upon two men crouched close against the wall by the library door—and he screamed out in an access of fury. "De double cross! A plant! De bulls! You damned snitch, Larry!" screamed out the Magpie—and fired.”
“It appears that, about the middle of the fourth century of the Christian Era, the Germans in the Roman service started the new practice of retaining their native names; and this change of etiquette, which seems to have been abrupt, points to a sudden access of self-confidence and self-assurance in the souls of the barbarian personnel which had previously been content to 'go Roman' without reservations.”
- The right of a noncustodial parent to visit their child.
- The process of locating data in memory.
“Operations on C++ volatiles do put the compiler on notice that the object may be modified asynchronously, and hence are generally safer to use than ordinary variable accesses.”
- Connection to or communication with a computer program or to the Internet.
- Complicity or assent.
verb
Etymology: First attested in 1962.
- To gain or obtain access to.
“The value of having in-house medical expertise is that staff with poor attendance records who have difficulty accessing NHS services can receive support from their employer, to help reduce absenteeism brought about by medical conditions.”
- To have access to (data).
“I can't access most of the data on the computer without a password.”