spaceship

noun

Etymology: * space + ship * (programming operator): From its resemblance to the shape of a flying saucer.

1. A manned vehicle that flies through space.
2. A finite pattern that reappears after a certain number of generations in the same orientation but in a different position.

   “The spaceships look like a row of threshers harvesting a field of wheat; the thickness in the direction of motion is only about 10 cells.”

   “We describe software that searches for spaceships in Conway's Game of Life and related two-dimensional cellular automata.”

3. The operator <=> in certain programming languages, which compares two values and indicates whether the first is lesser than, greater than, or equal to the second.

   “If we reverse the positions of $a and $b, the spaceship will sort in the opposite order[…]”

4. A computer.