[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

argument \ar"gument\, n. f. argument, l. argumentum, fr.
   arguere to argue.
   1. proof; evidence. obs.
      1913 webster

            there is.. no more palpable and convincing argument
            of the existence of a deity.          --ray.
      1913 webster

            why, then, is it made a badge of wit and an argument
            of parts for a man to commence atheist, and to cast
            off all belief of providence, all awe and reverence
            for religion?                         --south.
      1913 webster

   2. a reason or reasons offered in proof, to induce belief, or
      convince the mind; reasoning expressed in words; as, an
      argument about, concerning, or regarding a proposition,
      for or in favor of it, or against it.
      1913 webster

   3. a process of reasoning, or a controversy made up of
      rational proofs; argumentation; discussion; disputation.
      1913 webster

            the argument is about things, but names. --locke.
      1913 webster

   4. the subject matter of a discourse, writing, or artistic
      representation; theme or topic; also, an abstract or
      summary, as of the contents of a book, chapter, poem.
      1913 webster

            you and love are still my argument.   --shak.
      1913 webster

            the abstract or argument of the piece. --jeffrey.
      1913 webster

            shields with boastful argument portrayed.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

   5. matter for question; business in hand. obs.
      1913 webster

            sheathed their swords for lack of argument. --shak.
      1913 webster

   6. astron. the quantity on which another quantity in a
      table depends; as, the altitude is the argument of the
      refraction.
      1913 webster

   7. math. the independent variable upon whose value that of
      a function depends. --brande  c.
      1913 webster

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

argument \ar"gument\ a^r"g-ument, v. i. l.
   argumentari.
   to make an argument; to argue. obs. --gower.
   1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

argument
     n 1: a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is
          true; "it was a strong argument that his hypothesis was
          true" syn: statement
     2: a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong
        disagreement; "they were involved in a violent argument"
        syn: controversy, contention, contestation, disputation,
         disceptation, tilt, arguing
     3: a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against
        some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign
        aid goes on and on" syn: argumentation, debate
     4: a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play
        or movie; "the editor added the argument to the poem"
        syn: literary argument
     5: a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose
        value determines the dependent variable; if fx=y, x is
        the independent variable
see also:
statement controversy contention contestation disputation disceptation 
tilt arguing argumentation debate literary argument 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

243 moby thesaurus words for "argument":
   kilkenny cats, action, addend, affray, altercation, anagnorisis,
   angle, answer, antilogarithm, apologetics, apologia, apology,
   architectonics, architecture, argumentation, argumentum, assertion,
   atmosphere, background, barney, base, basis, bicker, bickering,
   binomial, blood feud, brawl, broil, case, casuistry,
   cat-and-dog life, catastrophe, characteristic, characterization,
   claim, coefficient, color, combat, combination, complement,
   complication, conflict, congruence, cons, consideration, constant,
   contention, contentiousness, contest, contestation, continuity,
   contrivance, controversy, cosine, cotangent, counterstatement,
   cube, cut and thrust, debate, decimal, defence, defense, demurrer,
   denial, denominator, denouement, derivative, design, determinant,
   development, device, difference, differential, disagreement,
   discriminate, disputation, dispute, dissension, dividend, divisor,
   donnybrook, donnybrook fair, e, elenchus, embroilment, enmity,
   episode, equation, evidence, exception, exponent, exponential,
   fable, factor, falling action, falling-out, feud, fight, fighting,
   fliting, flyting, formula, foundation, fracas, fray, function,
   fuss, gimmick, ground, hassle, head, hostility, hubbub, hurrah, i,
   ignoratio elenchi, imbroglio, incident, increment, index, integral,
   line, litigation, local color, logic, logomachy, matrix, matter,
   minuend, mood, motif, motive, movement, multiple, multiplier,
   mythos, norm, numerator, objection, open quarrel, paper war,
   parameter, passage of arms, peripeteia, permutation, pi, plaidoyer,
   plan, plea, pleading, pleadings, plot, point, polemic, polemics,
   polynomial, position, posture, power, proof, proposition, pros,
   pros and cons, quarrel, quarreling, quarrelsomeness, quaternion,
   quotient, radical, radix, reason, rebuttal, reciprocal,
   recognition, refutation, remainder, reply, response, rhubarb,
   riposte, rising action, root, row, rumpus, scheme, scrap,
   scrapping, secant, secondary plot, set-to, sharp words, sine,
   slanging match, slant, snarl, spat, special demurrer,
   special pleading, squabble, squabbling, stance, standpoint,
   statement, statement of defense, story, strife, structure,
   struggle, subject, subject matter, submultiple, subplot,
   subtrahend, summation, summing up, switch, talking point, tangent,
   tensor, testimony, text, thematic development, theme, thesis, tiff,
   tone, topic, tussle, twist, variable, vector, vendetta,
   verbal engagement, versine, war, war of words, warfare, wherefore,
   why, whyfor, words, wrangle, wrangling

[5] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

argument
     
         or "arg" a value or reference passed to a
        function, procedure, subroutine, command or program, by
        the caller.  for example, in the function
     
        	squarex = x  x
     
        x is the formal argument or "parameter" and in the call
     
        	y = square3+3
     
        3+3 is the actual argument.  this will, in most cases,
        execute the function square with x having the value 6.
     
        there are many different conventions for passing arguments to
        functions and procedures including call-by-value,
        call-by-name, call-by-need.  these affect whether the
        value of the argument is computed by the caller or the callee
        the function and whether the callee can modify the value of
        the argument as seen by the caller if it is a variable.
     
        arguments to functions are usually, following mathematical
        notation, written in parentheses after the function name,
        separated by commas.  arguments to a program are usually given
        after the command name, separated by spaces, e.g.:
     
        	cat myfile yourfile hisfile
     
        here "cat" is the command and "myfile", "yourfile", and
        "hisfile" are the arguments.
     
        see also: curried function.
     
        2002-07-02
     
     
see also:
function procedure subroutine formal argument actual argument call-by-value 
call-by-name call-by-need curried function 

[6] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

argument, practice. cicero defines it ii probable reason proposed in order
to induce belief. ratio probabilis et idonea ad faciendam fidem. the
logicians define it more scientifically to be a means, which by its
connexion between two extremes establishes a relation between them. this
subject belongs rather to rhetoric and logic than to law.

Argument >> A Words
Argument, definition of term: Argument
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