embedding
1. A method of including information from one application in another. For instance, a graph from a spreadsheet, the source, could be embedded in a word-processor document, the destination. Embedding is different from copying in that the application that created the embedded information can be started up from within the destination application if any modification is required. Embedding is also different from linking, where no information is copied into the destination, only the whereabouts of the source and what application created it. See also object linking and embedding.

2. In software, a low-level assembly language could be embedded into a higher-level language to, for example, speed up operation or provide a special function.

3. The inclusion of fonts in a document, as in a PostScript or PDF file.

EMBEDDING. A term in generative GRAMMAR for the process by which one sentence is included by subordination within another (the matrix sentence). The sentence John announced that they were engaged is said to be derived from the matrix sentence John announced (something), into which the COMPLEMENT clause They were engaged has been introduced by means of the complementizer that.

embedding A stage in the preparation of a sample for examination by microscopy that involves impregnation of the sample with wax or plastic following dehydration. The embedded sample can then be cut into extremely thin sections to reveal cellular and subcellular structure.