Lisp

LISt Processing language.

(Or mythically "Lots of Irritating Superfluous Parentheses"). Artificial Intelligence's mother tongue, a symbolic, functional, recursive language based on the ideas of lambda-calculus, variable-length lists and trees as fundamental data types and the interpretation of code as data and vice-versa.

Data objects in Lisp are lists and atoms. Lists may contain lists and atoms. Atoms are either numbers or symbols. Programs in Lisp are themselves lists of symbols which can be treated as data. Most implementations of Lisp allow functions with side-effects but there is a core of Lisp which is purely functional.

All Lisp functions and programs are expressions that return values; this, together with the high memory use of Lisp, gave rise to Alan Perlis's famous quip (itself a take on an Oscar Wilde quote) that "Lisp programmers know the value of everything and the cost of nothing".

The original version was LISP 1, invented by John McCarthy at MIT in the late 1950s. Lisp is actually older than any other high level language still in use except Fortran. Accordingly, it has undergone considerable change over the years. Modern variants are quite different in detail. The dominant HLL among hackers until the early 1980s, Lisp now shares the throne with C. See languages of choice.

One significant application for Lisp has been as a proof by example that most newer languages, such as COBOL and Ada, are full of unnecessary crocks. When the Right Thing has already been done once, there is no justification for bogosity in newer languages.

See also Association of Lisp Users, Common Lisp, Franz Lisp, MacLisp, Portable Standard Lisp, Interlisp, Scheme, ELisp, Kamin's interpreters.

[Jargon File]

(1995-04-16)

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
 

*LISP

(StarLISP) A data-parallel extension of Common LISP for the Connection Machine, uses "pvars".

A *LISP simulator (ftp://think.com/public/starsim-f19-sharfile).

E-mail: , .

[Cliff Lasser, Jeff Mincy, J.P. Massar, Thinking Machines Corporation "The Essential *LISP Manual", TM Corp 1986].

[Jargon File]

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
 

Lisp \Lisp\ (l[i^]sp), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lisped (l[i^]spt); p. pr. & vb. n. Lisping.]

[OE. lispen, lipsen, AS. wlisp stammering, lisping; akin to D. & OHG. lispen to lisp, G. lispeln, Sw. l[aum]spa, Dan. lespe.]

1. To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children. [1913 Webster]

2. To speak with imperfect articulation; to mispronounce, as a child learning to talk. [1913 Webster]

As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

3. To speak hesitatingly with a low voice, as if afraid. [1913 Webster]

Lest when my lisping, guilty tongue should halt. --Drayton. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

LISP \LISP\ (l[i^]sp), n. (Computers) [List Processing.]

a high-level computer programming language in which statements and data are in the form of lists, enclosed in parentheses; -- used especially for rapid development of prototype programs in artificial intelligence applications . [PJC]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Lisp \Lisp\, v. t.

1. To pronounce with a lisp. [1913 Webster]

2. To utter with imperfect articulation; to express with words pronounced imperfectly or indistinctly, as a child speaks; hence, to express by the use of simple, childlike language. [1913 Webster]

To speak unto them after their own capacity, and to lisp the words unto them according as the babes and children of that age might sound them again. --Tyndale. [1913 Webster]

3. To speak with reserve or concealment; to utter timidly or confidentially; as, to lisp treason. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Lisp \Lisp\, n. The habit or act of lisping. See Lisp, v. i., 1. [1913 Webster]

I overheard her answer, with a very pretty lisp, "O! Strephon, you are a dangerous creature." --Tatler. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

90 Moby Thesaurus words for "lisp": aphonia, artificial voice, assibilate, assibilation, broken speech, broken tones, broken voice, buzz, childish treble, choked voice, cracked voice, croak, crow, drawl, dysarthria, dyslalia, dyslogia, dysphasia, dysphonia, dysphrasia, effervesce, effervescence, effervescing, falsetto, fizz, fizzle, fizzling, frication, frictional rustling, harshness, hawking voice, hiss, hissing, hoarseness, hush, hushing, idioglossia, idiolalia, impairment of speech, lisping, loss of voice, mince, muzzy speech, nasal tone, nasalization, quaver, rhonchus, shake, shush, shushing, sibilance, sibilate, sibilation, siffle, sigmatism, siss, sissing, sizz, sizzle, sizzling, sneeze, sneezing, sniff, sniffle, snore, snort, snuff, snuffle, speech defect, speech impediment, spit, splutter, sputter, squash, squelch, squish, sternutation, stertor, swish, talk incoherently, tremor, twang, wheeze, whish, whistle, whistling, white noise, whiz, whoosh, zip

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

lisp

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Lisp \Lisp\, v. t.

1. To pronounce with a lisp.

2. To utter with imperfect articulation; to express with words pronounced imperfectly or indistinctly, as a child speaks; hence, to express by the use of simple, childlike language.

To speak unto them after their own capacity, and to lisp the words unto them according as the babes and children of that age might sound them again. --Tyndale.

3. To speak with reserve or concealment; to utter timidly or confidentially; as, to lisp treason.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Lisp \Lisp\ (l[i^]sp), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lisped (l[i^]spt); p. pr. & vb. n. Lisping.]

[OE. lispen, lipsen, AS. wlisp stammering, lisping; akin to D. & OHG. lispen to lisp, G. lispeln, Sw. l["a]spa, Dan. lespe.]

1. To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children.

2. To speak with imperfect articulation; to mispronounce, as a child learning to talk.

As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came. --Pope.

3. To speak hesitatingly with a low voice, as if afraid.

Lest when my lisping, guilty tongue should halt. --Drayton.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Lisp \Lisp\, n. The habit or act of lisping. See Lisp, v. i., 1.

I overheard her answer, with a very pretty lisp, ``O! Strephon, you are a dangerous creature.'' --Tatler.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)