Main Entry: ¹struc·ture

Pronunciation: \ˈstrək-chər\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin structura, from structus, past participle of struere to heap up, build — more at strew

Date: 15th century

1 : the action of building : construction
2 a : something (as a building) that is constructed b : something arranged in a definite pattern of organization <a rigid totalitarian structure — J. L. Hess> <leaves and other plant structures>
3 : manner of construction : makeup <Gothic in structure>
4 a : the arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body <soil structure> <molecular structure> b : organization of parts as dominated by the general character of the whole <economic structure> <personality structure> c : coherent form or organization <tried to give some structure to the children's lives>
5 : the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other <the structure of a language>

— struc·ture·less \-ləs\ adjective

— struc·ture·less·ness \-nəs\ noun