Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Profile |
ProfileNoun1. A graph representing the extent to which something exhibits various characteristics. 2. A side view representation of an object (especially a human face). 3. Biographical sketch. 4. A vertical section of the Earth's crust showing the different horizons or layers. Verb1. Write about: "The author of this article profiles a famous painter". 2. Represent in profile, by drawing or painting. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "profile" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Profile n. 1. A control file for a program, esp. a text file automatically read from each user's home directory and intended to be easily modified by the user in order to customize the program's behavior. Used to avoid hardcoded choices (see also dot file, rc file). 2. [techspeak] A report on the amounts of time spent in each routine of a program, used to find and tune away the hot spots in it. This sense is often verbed. Some profiling modes report units other than time (such as call counts) and/or report at granularities other than per-routine, but the idea is similar. 3.[techspeak] A subset of a standard used for a particular purpose. This sense confuses hackers who wander into the weird world of ISO standards no end!. Source: Jargon File. |
Aerospace | 1. Of a variable, a curve representing corresponding values of two or more variables which may occur. A profile accounts for the correlation from point to point on the curve and has some possibility, not necessarily specified, of actual occurrence. 2. The contour or form of a body, especially in a cross section; specifically, an airfoil profile.3. Something likened to a profile (sense 1), such as a line on a graph, as a flight profile. (references) |
Building & Civil Engineering | A diagrammatic representation of the rise and fall of the ground surface as seen in vertical section, or of an alignment, road, drain or other linear construction as seen in longitudinal vertical section. Source: European Union. (references) |
Fine Arts | A piece of thin wood. . . to which canvas or other cloth is glued and which is then sawed to show an irregular edge in silhouette for the simulation of scenic objects. . Source: European Union. (references) |
Food & Agriculture | The soil as seen in a vertical section through all its horizons and down into the parent soil material. Source: European Union. (references) |
Geography | Data recorded from one shot point by a number of groups of detectors. Source: European Union. (references) |
Geological | One method of making Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) is commonly referred to as profiling. In this technique a stereo pair of photographs is set up in a photogrammetric instrument and referenced to the ground using ground control points. After this process is completed the instrument automatically moves a computer cursor across the stereo model. As the cursor is being driven across the model, the operator controls the motion of the cursor while a recording device captures the elevation figures. Each swath across the stereo model is called a profile. (references) |
Hydrologic | A graph showing variation of elevation with distance along a traverse. (references) |
Literature | Profile (2 syl.) means shown by a thread. (Italian, profilo; Latin, filum, a thread.) A profile is an outline. In sculpture or painting it means to give the contour or side-face. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Military | The cross section of an earthwork. (references) |
Mining | A. The outline produced where the plane of a vertical section intersects the surface of ground; e.g., the longitudinal profile of a stream, or the profile of a coast or hill. Syn:topographic profile b. A graph or drawing that shows the variation of one property such as elevation or gravity, usually as ordinate, with respect to another property, such as distance c. Cross section of a region of cylindrical folds drawn perpendicular to the fold axes d. In seismic prospecting, the data recorded from one shot point by a number of groups of detectors e.g., the longitudi f. A vertical section of a water table or other potentiometric surface, or of a body of surface water g. A drawing used in civil engineering to show a vertical section of theground along a surveyed line or graded work. (references) |
Physics | The cross-section of the lens by a given plane containing the axis of the lens. Source: European Union. (references) |
Post & Telecom | A set of parameters defining the way in which a device acts. In the LAN world, a profile is often used by one or more workstations to determine the connection they will have with other devices. Profiles work like batch files, executing a number of commands to save a user time and effort. Source: European Union. (references) |
Transportation | The orthogonal projection of a flight path or portion thereof on the vertical surface containing the nominal track. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
PROFILE | English | Program Overview and File | Computing |
| PROF | English | Profile | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Laterality | Noun: laterality; side, flank, quarter, lee; hand; cheek, jowl, jole, wing; profile; temple, parietes, loin, haunch, hip; beam. |
Outline | Noun: outline, circumference; perimeter, periphery, ambit, circuit, lines tournure, contour, profile, silhouette; bounds; coast line. |
Painting | Portrait; (representation); whole length, full length, half length; kitcat, head; miniature; shade, silhouette; profile. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Profile |
| English words defined with "profile": A horizon, A-horizon ♦ caricature plant, cyma, cymatium ♦ defined, Delineator ♦ Gauge lathe, Graptophyllum pictum ♦ Jigging machine ♦ lie low, Line of levels ♦ outlined ♦ Profiled, Profiling ♦ rampant, rearing, Rousant ♦ soil horizon. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "profile": cycloidal tooth profile ♦ Demographic profile, document application profile ♦ equi-angular profile ♦ Flood Profile ♦ Government OSI Profile ♦ involute tooth profile ♦ mass profile, MPEG-2 AAC Low Profile, MPEG-4 AAC Main Profile ♦ parabolic profile, profile turning ♦ quadratic profile ♦ service profile management ♦ Toxicological profile ♦ Wind Speed Profile. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Profile" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (outlines), German (profiles). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Better profile for one thing, and nobody eats you for another (Balto; writing credit: David Cohen; Elana Lesser) I've got a better profile. (Heist; writing credit: David Mamet) His profile, uh, well, he he's likely to strike out at the things that made him the most human (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) He doesn't fit any profile. You're looking at the one man who may be capable of unraveling everything you've put together (Stingray; writing credit: Gary DeVore; Jimmy Huston) You know from the right side, you have a nice profile. (Smokey and the Bandit; writing credit: Hal Needham; Robert L. Levy) | |
Lyrics | Very low key on the profile (No Diggity; performing artist: Blackstreet) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Profile of a Gentleman (1967) American Profile (1967) Profile of a Problem Drinker (1957) Canadian Profile (1957) Prairie Profile (1955) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Front of the medal of the Nobel Prize, featuring a profile of Alfred Nobel. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | The image shows an older woman holding a little girl on her lap. The photo also includes the profile of a younger woman. They are watching a parade. These people are members of a large Mormon family. The Mormons are being studied because of their low cancer death rate. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |
 | Mission Profile for April 12, 1961 Vostok Flight. Credit: NASA. |  | Profile of Agena Docking Target. Credit: NASA. |
 | Deepsea soundings by the USS ARCTIC - Otway Berryman commanding Top line is ship track between Newfoundland and Ireland Bottom line is profile and shows no plateau Generated a controversy with Matthew Fontaine Maury Maury declared erroneous and continued touting "Telegraphic Plateau". Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Profile with bottom characteristics of TUSCARORA soundings Profile shows continental slope and Juan de Fuca Ridge This was the first indication of the Juan de Fuca Ridge system. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Profile view of an osprey perched in a dead tree. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Launching an ozonesonde. This balloon transported instrument measures a vertical profile of the ozone layer. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Profile view of launches at Tigvariak Island. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Port profile of a purse seiner. Credit: Fisheries. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Leaf profile" by John Philip Commentary: "Close up of a leaf in a vineyard." | "Low profile 1" by Thomas Michael Burgey, Germany Commentary: "Tiny plants taken in southern england in 1999." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | No feature of the universal countenance is wanting in the profile of Paris |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | A new clinical profile of hyperparathyroidism that is characterized by mild hypercalcemia has emerged. (references) | |
Tests for systemic diseases include blood counts, urinalysis, lipid profile, and measurements of creatinine and liver enzymes. (references) | ||
Each of the interventions affected total cholesterol and/or LDL-C and one or more of the other components of the lipid profile. (references) | ||
Business | The end-user profile is changing. (references) | |
This report provides a strategic profile of China along these lines. (references) | ||
This changed profile of oral health has led to greater demand for restorative dental treatment. (references) | ||
Children | Brazil | A 1999 study by the Reference Center on Children and Adolescents (CECRIA), an entity within the National Human Rights Secretariat, indicated that patterns of sexual exploitation of children correspond to the distinct economic and social profile of the country's region. (references) |
Civil Liberties | Bulgaria | Technically it remained illegal for a church to conduct any religious activities through its NGO-registered organization, although the Government sometimes tacitly allowed such groups to conduct worship so long as they kept a very low profile. (references) |
Colombia | Jesus Antonio Bejarano, a former government peace commissioner; Doctor Dario Betancur, head of the social sciences faculty of Bogota's Universidad Pedagogica; and Doctor Hernando Henao, an anthropologist who published on the subject of displaced persons were killed in 1999. As a result of these incidents, academic leaders have chosen to assume a lower profile; many have taken up residence outside the country. (references) | |
Economic History | Guatemala | Another source of information is the International Company Profile service, which can be ordered through any U.S. office of the U.S., and Foreign Commercial Service (U.S. Export Assistance Center). (references) |
Italy | Another factor is the Italian economy's relatively low profile in the United States. (references) | |
Ireland | Future market potential remains strong as the age profile of the Irish population edges upwards over the next decade. (references) | |
Human Rights | Guatemala | In addition to investigating judges and justices, the Disciplinary Unit also oversaw the investigation of court employees who inexplicably lost the court proceedings in another high profile bank fraud case pending against the former president of the National Mortgage Credit Bank, Jose Armando Llort. (references) |
Pakistan | There were at least two high profile killings during 2000. In January 2000, unknown assailants killed the chief justice designate of the Baluchistan High Court; it is likely that the killing was a personal vendetta. (references) | |
Belarus | There has been no satisfactory resolution of the September 1999 disappearance of 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy Chairman Viktor Gonchar and his local business associate Anatoliy Krasovsky, which occurred after Lukashenka, in a meeting broadcast on state television, ordered the chiefs of his security services to crack down on "opposition scum." Gonchar was a high profile antiregime politician and Krasovsky was considered an active fundraiser for the opposition. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Panama | The Ministry of Government and Justice in Panama City maintains the low profile Office of Indigenous Policy. (references) |
Minorities | Armenia | As a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, anti-Muslim feeling persisted among the populace, and the few remaining Muslims in the country keep a low profile. (references) |
Political Economy | PERU | A third rescheduling was completed on July 20, 1996, under which the Club creditors agreed to reschedule approximately $1 billion in "official debt" payments coming due between 1996 and 1999, and to reschedule some debt originally rescheduled in 1991 in order to smooth out Peru's debt service profile. (references) |
Trade | Mexico | Credit information is available through the Commercial Service's International Company Profile report (ICP) as well as through private credit reporting agencies. (references) |
Russia | Previously-established FEZs, including the high profile Kaliningrad FEZ, have generated little new investment. (references) | |
Travel | Indonesia | Travel advisory: American citizens resident or traveling in Indonesia are advised to exercise caution at all times, be alert to suspicious or unclaimed packages, vary times and routes and other aspects of personal daily routine and keep a low profile. (references) |
Worker Rights | Albania | The General Prosecutor's office was in the process of establishing an Organized Crime Strike force, made up of prosecutors and police officers, to handle high profile and sensitive cases; however, the lack of prosecution of traffickers remained a problem. (references) |
Poland | During the year, trade unions took a lower profile in politics. (references) | |
India | A similar profile is believed to exist among female sex workers in Calcutta, although the vast majority of women who are trafficked there come from Bangladesh, as opposed to Nepal. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Great nations have responsibilities to lead and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Profile" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.05% of the time. "Profile" is used about 2,207 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.05% | 2,186 | 4,012 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.77% | 17 | 85,106 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.18% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 2,207 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| United Kingdom | Profile Media Group Plc | USA | Profile Technologies, Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "profile": actual profile ♦ airfoil profile ♦ application profile ♦ assigned profile ♦ blood profile ♦ company profile ♦ cycloidal tooth profile ♦ document application profile ♦ economic profile ♦ enveloping profile ♦ flight profile ♦ functional profile ♦ generic access profile ♦ Government Open Systems Interconnect Profile ♦ government OSI Profile ♦ ground profile ♦ high profile ♦ hollow profile ♦ indicated profile ♦ intended profile ♦ involute profile checker and lead checking machine ♦ involute tooth profile ♦ keep a low profile ♦ low profile ♦ Montague profile ♦ nominal profile ♦ painted in profile ♦ parabolic profile ♦ personality profile ♦ population profile ♦ Profile Alignment Group for ODA ♦ Profile Alignment Group for office document architecture ♦ profile block ♦ profile board ♦ profile drag ♦ profile of the surface of revolution ♦ profile paper ♦ profile turning ♦ profile view ♦ public access profile ♦ quadratic profile ♦ refractive index profile ♦ rotated profile ♦ security profile ♦ seismic profile ♦ service profile management ♦ Sickness Impact Profile ♦ soil profile ♦ supersonic profile ♦ transverse profile. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "profile": profile-building, profile-fitting, profile-reporting. | |
Ending with "profile": highest-profile, high-profile, low-profile. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
profile | 18,873 | valkyrie profile | 338 |
yahoo profile | 12,019 | adult profile yahoo | 337 |
aim profile | 2,660 | aim buddy profile | 328 |
msn profile | 1,659 | aol member profile | 312 |
buddy profile | 1,492 | aim profile sub | 278 |
member profile | 1,470 | profile view yahoo | 276 |
aol profile | 1,454 | edit profile yahoo | 259 |
member profile yahoo | 1,187 | aim profile quote | 252 |
personal profile | 724 | member msn profile | 248 |
profile sub | 627 | low profile record | 232 |
color profile | 588 | ge profile | 222 |
profile quote | 519 | msn profile public | 215 |
personality profile | 499 | search profile | 197 |
profile amp | 448 | profile public | 187 |
yahoo profile search | 426 | messenger msn profile | 177 |
edit my profile | 422 | mbi profile | 162 |
company profile | 422 | view profile | 152 |
adult profile | 413 | low profile tire | 152 |
cute profile quote | 360 | aim profile trick | 143 |
hotmail profile | 340 | aim cool profile | 141 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "profile"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | deursnee. (various references) | |
Albanian | profil, portretizoj (limn, paint, portray), paraqitje (adduction, demonstration, designation, display, face, figure, guise, introduction, likeness, make, manifestation, portrayal, preferment, presence, presentation, production, recommendation, representation, showing, smartness, statement, submission), paraqes gjendjen, përvijim (delineation, line, lineation, outline), përshkrim (commentary, delineation, depiction, description, portrait, portraiture, presentment, recital, write up), skicë (cartoon, chart, dash, delineation, design, draft, draught, essay, figure, freehand, outline, plan, rough, sketch), bëj profilin. (various references) | |
Arabic | كتب لمحة مختصرة, مظهر جانبي, لمحة عن حياة شخص, صورة جانبية, الجانبية للصورة, رسم صورة جانبية, بارز (beetle, conspicuous, distinct, distinguished, duel, eminent, featured, fence, great, in the first flight, lofty, memorable, monumental, noble, notable, noticeable, outstanding, pointed, prognathous, projecting, prominent, protruding, protuberant, remarkable, salient, signal, striking, uncommon). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | кулиса (coulisse, flat, rocker, sector), профил (contour, cross section, cutout, section, shape, side, side face, side view, silhouette). (various references) | |
Chinese | 總則 , 外貌 (appearance), 外形. (various references) | |
Czech | profil (side face), silueta (silhouette, skyline), nakreslit z profilu. (various references) | |
Danish | profil (contact area, contact surface, section, security profile, shape, track, tread). (various references) | |
Dutch | profiel (aerofoil, airfoil, edge-jointed layer, fillet, functional profile, functional standard, molding, moulding, pattern, section, security profile, shape), karakterschets. (various references) | |
Esperanto | profilo, karakterizo, karakteranalizo. (various references) | |
Farsi | نیمرخ (Sideview, Silhouette), نموداریامنحنی مخصوص نمایش چیزی , نقشه برش نما, عکس نیمرخ , برجسته (Boss, Dominant, Egregious, Eminent, Illustrious, Laureate, Masterwork, Outstanding, Palmary, Palmy, Predominant, Prime, Prominent, Saleint, Swell, Tyupical), برش عمودی . (various references) | |
Finnish | profiili (section, security profile, shape). (various references) | |
French | profil (security profile, soil profile). (various references) | |
German | Profil (cross section, elevation, image, tread, vertical section, wing section), Querschnitt (cross section, transverse section). (various references) | |
Greek | προφίλ (side face), κατατομή (functional profile, functional standard). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתאר (contour, descriptive, outline), פרופיל, דיוקן (image, likeness, portrait), צדודית. (various references) | |
Hungarian | profil (contour, section), oldalnézet (elevation, side elevation, side view), arcél. (various references) | |
Indonesian | penampang (section), raut muka. (various references) | |
Italian | profilo (contour, outline, sketch). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | プロトン磁力計 (probability, professional, professor, profiler, profit, propaganda, propagandist, propagation, propane, propane gas, propeller, proper, property, propylene, proton magnetometer), 横顔 (face in profile), 横顔 (face in profile, face seen from the side). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | プロフィール , よこがお (face in profile, face seen from the side). (various references) | |
Korean | 단면도 (section). (various references) | |
Manx | ym-linney (circumference, contour, perimeter), gruaie (brow, cheek, face, facet, grim countenance, silhouette, temple). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ofilepray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | perfil (contour, cutout, dide view, form, guest-card, outline, shape, skyline). (various references) | |
Romanian | profila (specialize), profil (cut out, kerf, section, shape, side face, silhouette, structure, type), desena (design, draw, draw out, figure, pencil, picture, sketch, trace), contur (contour, figuration, line, outline, perimeter, set). (various references) | |
Russian | профиль (contour, cross section, cutout, elevation, shape, side view, side-view). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | profil (cross section), prikazati u profilu, u profilu, nacrtati u profilu. (various references) | |
Spanish | perfil (hairstroke, outline, section, shape, skyline). (various references) | |
Swedish | profil (image). (various references) | |
Turkish | profilini çizmek, profil çizmek, profil (half face, side face, side view), profíl, yüzün yandan görünüşü (side face), kesitini çıkarmak, kesit (crossing, cutaway, edge, section), biyografi (biography), özgeçmiş (autobiography, background, curriculum vitae, resume). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | короткий нарис, контур (contour, outline, periphery), обрис (delineation, outline), малювати у профіль, профілювати, профіль (cyma, cyme, side face), переріз. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | filare. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "profile": profiled, profiler, profilers, profiles. (additional references) | |
| |
"Profile" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Perfilyev, poofie, potile, pouffela, pratile, Pribilov, profeel, profice, profien, profil, profilo, profils, profine, profite, proflix, proil, proile, prolife, Pruffle, rufile. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-f-i-l-o-p-r" | |
-1 letter: pilfer. | |
-2 letters: filer, flier, lifer, loper, oiler, oriel, peril, plier, poler, prole, reoil, rifle. | |
-3 letters: file, filo, fire, flip, floe, flop, foil, fore, froe, lief, lier, life, lipe, lire, lope, lore, orle, pelf, peri, pier, pile, plie, pole, pore, prof, reif, repo, riel, rife, rile, ripe, roil, role, rolf, rope. | |
-4 letters: elf, fer, fie. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-f-i-l-o-p-r" | |
+1 letter: floppier, profiled, profiler, profiles. | |
+2 letters: plexiform, profilers. | |
+3 letters: perfoliate, profitable, profitless, profligate, shoplifter, slipformed, toploftier. | |
+4 letters: forcepslike, parfocalize, patelliform, pilferproof, profiterole, profligates, proliferate, shoplifters. | |
+5 letters: childproofed, epileptiform, flavoprotein, flexographic, followership, leapfrogging, oversimplify, parfocalized, parfocalizes, perfidiously, professional, professorial, proficiently, profiteroles, profligacies, profligately, proliferated, proliferates, prolificness, unprofitable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Speeches 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Company Usage | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
