context

n 1: discourse that surrounds a language unit and helps to

determine its interpretation [syn: {linguistic context},

{context of use}]

2: the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation

or event; "the historical context" [syn: {circumstance}]

context

That which surrounds, and gives meaning to, something else.

In a {grammar} it refers to the symbols before and

after the symbol under consideration. If the syntax of a

symbol is independent of its context, the grammar is said to

be {context-free}.