module

See also: Module and modulé

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French module, from Latin modulus (“a small measure, a measure, mode, meter”), diminutive of modus (“measure”) (whence mode). Doublet of modulus and mold.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation)
  • (yod-coalescence) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒd͡ʒuːl/
  • (no yod-coalescence) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒdjuːl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑd͡ʒul/
• Rhymes: -ɒdjuːl, -ɒdʒuːl

Noun

module (plural modules)

1. A self-contained component of a system, often interchangeable, which has a well-defined interface to the other components.
   • 2025 February 11, Joshua Stylman, “How to Forge the Spectator Class”, in Brownstone Journal‎^[1]:

     A friend who’s spent decades as an auto mechanic recently confided that he’s grateful to be nearing retirement. “These Teslas,” he told me, “they’re not even cars anymore – they’re computers on wheels. When something goes wrong, you don’t fix it; you just replace entire modules.” What was once a craft that any dedicated person could learn has become an exercise in supervised dependency.

2. (architecture) A standard unit of measure used for determining the proportions of a building.
3. (programming) A section of a program; a subroutine or group of subroutines.
   • 2001, Phil Jones, Visual Basic: A Complete Course, page 254:

     Class modules are similar to form modules except they do not have a visible interface (GUI).

   • 2013, Helmut Reimer, Norbert Pohlmann, Wolfgang Schneider, ISSE 2013 Securing Electronic Business Processes, page 244:

     When there is more than one protected module in memory, the rules for accessing the code and data sections of a given module treat all the other modules as if they were unprotected memory.

4. A unit of education covering a single topic.

   Which modules are you studying next year?

5. A pre-prepared adventure scenario with related materials for a role-playing game.
   • 2011, Michael J. Tresca, The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, page 81:

     Dragonborn […] first appeared in the Dragons of Despair module (1984) for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as “dragonmen.”

6. (algebra, ring theory) An abelian group equipped with the operation of multiplication by an element of a ring (or another of certain algebraic objects), representing a generalisation of the concept of vector space with scalar multiplication.

   Meronym: element

   • 1974, Thomas W. Hungerford, Algebra, Springer, page 168:

     Modules over a ring are a generalization of abelian groups (which are modules over $\textstyle \mathbb {Z}$).

   • 2004, Robert R. Colby, Kent R. Fuller, Equivalence and Duality for Module Categories (with Tilting and Cotilting for Rings), Cambridge University Press, page vii:

     Approximately forty-five years ago K. Morita presented the first major results on equivalences and dualities between categories of modules over a pair of rings.

   • 2012, A. A. Kirillov, Elements of the Theory of Representations, Springer, page 29:

     One defines in like manner right K-modules and two-sided K-modules. If K is commutative, then every left K-module is automatically equipped with the structure of right and a two-sided K-module.

7. (fractal geometry, mathematics) A fractal element.
8. (music, computing) A file containing a music sequence that can be played in a tracker (also called mod or music module).
9. (hydraulics) A contrivance for regulating the supply of water from an irrigation channel.
10. (astronautics) An independent self-contained unit of a spacecraft.

Usage notes

• (abelian group equipped with multiplication by an element of a ring):
  • For a given ring R, one speaks of an "R-module" or, equivalently, of a "module over R". R is expected to be unital.
  • R may also be a Lie algebra.
  • If K is a field, "K-module" is identical to "K-vector space".
  • If the ring is not commutative, scalar multiplication of a module is defined as left- and/or right-multiplication, and one refers to a "left R-module" or a "right R-module".
  • The concept of module is closely connected to the representation theory of groups and is central to both commutative algebra and homological algebra. Modules are also widely used in algebraic geometry and algebraic topology.

Hyponyms

• (algebraic structure, mathematics): vector space, free module, projective module, injective module
• (astronautics): command module, lunar module

Derived terms

• bimodule
• body control module
• Clifford module
• command and service module
• comodule
• contramodule
• cryomodule
• cryptomodule
• cyclic module
• e-module
• glycomodule
• hypermodule
• intermodule
• intramodule
• load module
• lunar module
• micromodule
• minimodule
• modular
• modularise
• modularised
• modularize
• modularized
• modulate
• modulation
• modulator
• moduled
• module pattern
• module theory
• modulization
• modulize
• modulus
• monogenous module
• multimodule
• nanomodule
• noetherian module
• Noetherian module
• podule
• R-module
• semimodule
• submodule
• supermodule
• supramodule
• vertical lift module

Related terms

• mode
• model
• moderate
• modulus

Translations

self-contained component of a system

• Arabic: وَحْدَة f (waḥda)
• Armenian: մոդուլ (hy) (modul)
• Belarusian: мо́дуль m (módulʹ)
• Bulgarian: мо́дул m (módul)
• Catalan: mòdul (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 模塊 / 模块 (zh) (mókuài)

• Czech: modul (cs) m
• Dutch: module (nl) m
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: moduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• Georgian: მოდული (moduli)
• German: Modul (de) n
• Greek: δομοστοιχείο (el) n (domostoicheío)
• Hebrew: מוֹדוּל m (modul)
• Hindi: मॉड्यूल (mŏḍyūl)
• Japanese: モジュール (ja) (mojūru)
• Korean: 모듈 (modyul)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Malayalam: ഘടകം (ml) (ghaṭakaṁ)
• Māori: kōwae
• Middle Persian: hngwšydg
• Persian: ماژول (fa) (mâžul), پودمان (fa) (pudmân)
• Polish: moduł (pl) m
• Portuguese: módulo (pt) m
• Romanian: modul (ro) n
• Russian: мо́дуль (ru) m (módulʹ)
• Slovak: modul m
• Spanish: módulo (es) m
• Swedish: modul (sv) c
• Thai: มอดูล (mɔɔ-duun), โมดูล (moo-duun)
• Turkish: modül (tr)
• Ukrainian: мо́дуль m (módulʹ)
• Vietnamese: mô-đun, bộ phận rời

architecture: standard unit of measure for determining the proportions of a building

• Finnish: moduulimitta
• French: module (fr) m
• Romanian: modul (ro) n
• Portuguese: módulo (pt) m
• Tagalog: modyul
• Ukrainian: мо́дуль m (módulʹ)

section of a program

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 模塊 / 模块 (zh) (mókuài)

• Finnish: moduuli (fi), ohjelmamoduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• Malayalam: ഘടകം (ml) (ghaṭakaṁ)
• Māori: kōwae
• Persian: ماژول (fa) (mâžul), پودمان (fa) (pudmân)
• Portuguese: módulo (pt) m
• Romanian: modul (ro) n
• Russian: мо́дуль (ru) m (módulʹ)
• Swedish: modul (sv) c
• Turkish: modül (tr)
• Ukrainian: мо́дуль m (módulʹ)
• Vietnamese: phần chương trình

unit of education

• Finnish: opintomoduuli, moduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• German: Modul (de) n
• Māori: kōwae
• Romanian: modul (ro) n
• Swedish: modul (sv) c
• Tagalog: modyul

pre-prepared adventure scenario for a role-playing game

• Finnish: moduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• Russian: мо́дуль (ru) m (módulʹ)

type of algebraic structure, generalization of vector spaces over non-field rings

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 模 (zh) (mó)

• Finnish: moduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• German: Modul (de) m
• Persian: مدول (modul)
• Swedish: modul (sv)

fractal element

file containing a music sequence

• Finnish: musiikkimoduuli

hydraulics: contrivance for regulating the supply of water from an irrigation channel

astronautics: independent self-contained unit of a spacecraft

• Finnish: moduuli (fi)
• French: module (fr) m
• Romanian: modul (ro) n
• Ukrainian: мо́дуль m (módulʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} module (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Modul (de) n, ^{(please verify)} Modul (de) m (qualifier)
• Greek: ^{(please verify)} άρθρωμα (el) n (árthroma)
• Icelandic: (3) ^{(please verify)} eining f

Further reading

• “module”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “module”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• Module in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Dutch

Alternative forms

• moduul

Etymology

Borrowed from French module. Doublet of modulus and mal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moːˈdy.lə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ylə

Noun

module m (plural modulen or modules, no diminutive)

1. module

Related terms

• kernmodule
• modulair
• moduleren

Descendants

• → Indonesian: modul

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin modulus. Doublet of moule.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ.dyl/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

module m (plural modules)

1. module

Derived terms

• module d'extension

Descendants

• → Dutch: module, moduul
  • → Indonesian: modul
• → English: module
• → Romanian: modul
• → Turkish: modül

Further reading

• “module”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Verb

module

1. inflection of modular:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Latin

Noun

module

1. vocative singular of modulus

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔˈdu.lɛ/
• Rhymes: -ulɛ
• Syllabification: mo‧du‧le

Noun

module

1. locative/vocative singular of moduł

Portuguese

Verb

module

1. inflection of modular:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈdu.le/
• Rhymes: -ule
• Hyphenation: mo‧du‧le

Noun

module n pl

1. indefinite plural of modul (“module”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmo.du.le/
• Rhymes: -odule
• Hyphenation: mo‧du‧le

Noun

module n

1. vocative singular of mod (“mode”)

Spanish

Verb

module

1. inflection of modular:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative