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Dot vs Dotfile - What's the difference?

dot | dotfile |

As an acronym dot

is department of transportation.

As a noun dotfile is

(computing|unix) a file or directory whose name begins with a dot (period or full stop), typically hidden from view.

dot

English

(wikipedia dot)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A small spot.
    • a dot of colour
  • (grammar) A punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a sentence or an abbreviated part of a word; a full stop; a period.
  • A diacritical mark comprised of a small opaque circle above or below any of various letters of the Latin script. Examples include: ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, etc.
  • (mathematics) A symbol used for separating the fractional part of a decimal number from the whole part, for indicating multiplication or a scalar product, or for various other purposes.
  • One of the two symbols used in Morse code.
  • (obsolete) A lump or clot.
  • Anything small and like a speck comparatively; a small portion or specimen.
    • a dot of a child
  • (cricket, informal) A dot ball.
    • Synonyms
    * (small spot) speck, spot * (at the end of a sentence or abbreviation) full stop (British), period (US), point * (as a diacritic) tittle (over the letters i and j) * (sense) decimal point * (in Morse code) dit
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from dot) * centered dot, centred dot * connect the dots * dotcom * dot matrix * dot matrix printer * dot product * dottel * dottle * dotty * join the dots * middle dot * off one's dot * on the dot * polka dot * the year dot

    Verb

    (dott)
  • To cover with small spots (of some liquid).
    • His jacket was dotted with splashes of paint.
  • To add a dot (the symbol) or dots to.
    • Dot your i''s and cross your ''t s.
  • To mark by means of dots or small spots.
    • to dot a line
  • To mark or diversify with small detached objects.
    • to dot a landscape with cottages
    Derived terms
    * dot do dot * dot the i's and cross the t's

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Dot product of the previous vector and the following vector.
    • The work is equal to F dot ?x.
    Coordinate terms
    * *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) dot.

    Alternative forms

    * dote

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, Louisiana) A dowry.
  • * 1919 , , (The Moon and Sixpence) ,
    • "Have you the pictures still?" I asked.
    "Yes; I am keeping them till my daughter is of marriageable age, and then I shall sell them. They will be her dot ."
  • * 1927 , Anna Bowman Dodd, Talleyrand: the Training of a Statesman :
    • As a bride, Madame de Talleyrand had brought a small dot of fifteen thousand francs to the family fund.

    Anagrams

    * ----

    dotfile

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (computing, Unix) A file or directory whose name begins with a dot (period or full stop), typically hidden from view.
  • * 2003 , James Lee, Brent Ware, Open source Web development with LAMP
    • There is also a dotfile generator, which you can use to create dotfiles for many different programs until you get the hang of it.
  • * 2004 , Eric S Raymond, The art of Unix programming
    • In general, a user-defined environment variable can be an effective design choice when the value changes often enough to make editing a dotfile each time...