comment
com·ment / ˈkämˌent/ • n. a remark expressing an opinion or reaction. ∎ discussion, esp. of a critical nature, of an issue or event: the plans were sent to the council for comment. ∎ an indirect expression of the views of the creator of an artistic work: their second single is a comment on commercialism. ∎ an explanatory note in a book or other written text. ∎ archaic a written explanation or commentary. ∎ Comput. a piece of specially tagged text placed within a program to help other users to understand it, which the computer ignores when running the program.• v. [tr.] express (an opinion or reaction): the review commented that the book was agreeably written | [intr.] the company would not comment on the venture. ∎ Comput. place a piece of specially tagged explanatory text within (a program) to assist other users. ∎ Comput. turn (part of a program) into a comment so that the computer ignores it when running the program.PHRASES: no comment used in refusing to answer a question, esp. in a sensitive situation.DERIVATIVES: com·ment·er n.ORIGIN: late Middle English (in the senses ‘expository treatise’ and ‘explanatory note’): from Latin commentum ‘contrivance’ (in late Latin also ‘interpretation’), neuter past participle of comminisci ‘devise.’
comment
Hence (or — F. commenter) comment vb. XVI. So commentary XV. commentator †chronicler XIV; writer of a commentary XVII.
comment
Some languages, including Ada, prefer “end-of-line” comments, which are introduced by a characteristic symbol and are automatically terminated at the end of a line. Older languages such as Basic and Fortran restrict comments to be whole lines and do not allow them to be appended to a line of code.