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

virtual \vir"tual\ ?; 135, a. cf. f. virtuel. see virtue.
   1. having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy
      without the agency of the material or sensible part;
      potential; energizing.
      1913 webster

            heat and cold have a virtual transition, without
            communication of substance.           --bacon.
      1913 webster

            every kind that lives,
            fomented by his virtual power, and warmed. --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual
      presence of a man in his agent or substitute.
      1913 webster

            a thing has a virtual existence when it has all the
            conditions necessary to its actual existence.
                                                  --fleming.
      1913 webster

            to mask by slight differences in the manners a
            virtual identity in the substance.    --de quincey.
      1913 webster

   principle of virtual velocities mech., the law that when
      several forces are in equilibrium, the algebraic sum of
      their virtual moments is equal to zero.

   virtual focus opt., the point from which rays, having
      been rendered divergent by reflection of refraction,
      appear to issue; the point at which converging rays would
      meet if not reflected or refracted before they reach it. 

   virtual image. optics see under image.

   virtual moment of a force mech., the product of the
      intensity of the force multiplied by the virtual velocity
      of its point of application; -- sometimes called virtual
      work.

   virtual velocity mech., a minute hypothetical
      displacement, assumed in analysis to facilitate the
      investigation of statical problems. with respect to any
      given force of a number of forces holding a material
      system in equilibrium, it is the projection, upon the
      direction of the force, of a line joining its point of
      application with a new position of that point indefinitely
      near to the first, to which the point is conceived to have
      been moved, without disturbing the equilibrium of the
      system, or the connections of its parts with each other.
      strictly speaking, it is not a velocity but a length.

   virtual work. mech. see virtual moment, above.
      1913 webster
see also:
virtue principle of virtual velocities virtual focus virtual image image virtual moment 
virtual work virtual velocity virtual work 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

virtual
     adj 1: being actually such in almost every respect; "a practical
            failure"; "the once elegant temple lay in virtual
            ruin" syn: virtuala, practicala
     2: being such in essence or effect though not in actual fact;
        "a virtual dependence on charity"; "a virtual revolution";
        "virtual reality" syn: virtuala
see also:
virtuala practicala 

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

31 moby thesaurus words for "virtual":
   accepted, basic, between the lines, constructive, covert, cryptic,
   delitescent, dormant, effective, esoteric, essential, fundamental,
   hibernating, hidden, latent, lurking, muffled, mystic, obfuscated,
   obscured, occult, possible, potential, practical, sleeping,
   submerged, under the surface, underlying, understood, unmanifested,
   veiled

[4] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

virtual adj. via the technical term `virtual memory', prob. from the
   term `virtual image' in optics 1. common alternative to logical;
   often used to refer to the artificial objects like addressable virtual
   memory larger than physical memory simulated by a computer system as a
   convenient way to manage access to shared resources. 2. simulated;
   performing the functions of something that isn't really there. an
   imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate. oppose real.


see also:
logical real 

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

virtual
     
         via the technical term virtual
        memory, probably from the term "virtual image" in optics
        1. common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the
        artificial objects like addressable virtual memory larger
        than physical memory created by a computer system to help the
        system control access to shared resources.
     
        2. simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't
        really there.  an imaginative child's doll may be a virtual
        playmate.
     
        opposite of real or physical.
     
        jargon file
     
        1994-11-30
     
     
see also:
virtual memory logical virtual memory real jargon file 

Virtual >> V Words
Virtual, definition of term: Virtual
virtual_pag1.html

Virtual Machine >> V Words
Virtual Machine, definition of term: Virtual Machine
virtual+machine_pag1.html

Virtual Memory >> V Words
Virtual Memory, definition of term: Virtual Memory
virtual+memory_pag1.html

Virtual Reality >> V Words
Virtual Reality, definition of term: Virtual Reality
virtual+reality_pag1.html

Virtual Image >> V Words
Virtual Image, definition of term: Virtual Image
virtual+image_pag1.html

Virtual Focus >> V Words
Virtual Focus, definition of term: Virtual Focus
virtual+focus_pag1.html

Virtual Address >> V Words
Virtual Address, definition of term: Virtual Address
virtual+address_pag1.html

Virtual Circuit >> V Words
Virtual Circuit, definition of term: Virtual Circuit
virtual+circuit_pag1.html

Virtual Device >> V Words
Virtual Device, definition of term: Virtual Device
virtual+device_pag1.html