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A town of central Illinois near Bloomington. It is the seat of Illinois State University, founded as a normal school in 1857. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
adj. 1. Conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level, or type; typical: normal room temperature; one's normal weight; normal diplomatic relations. 2. Biology Functioning or occurring in a natural way; lacking observable abnormalities or deficiencies. 3. Chemistry a. Relating to or designating the normality of a solution. b. Abbr. n Designating an aliphatic hydrocarbon having an acyclic unbranched chain of carbon atoms. 4. Mathematics a. Being at right angles; perpendicular. b. Perpendicular to the direction of a tangent line to a curve or a tangent plane to a surface. 5. a. Relating to or characterized by average intelligence or development. b. Free from mental illness; sane. n. 1. The usual, expected, or standard state, form, amount, or degree: Temperatures have been above normal for this time of year. 2. Mathematics A perpendicular, especially a perpendicular to a line tangent to a plane curve or to a plane tangent to a space curve. [Middle English, from Late Latin normālis, from Latin, made according to the square, from norma, carpenter's square; see gnō- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] normal·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
