read-only file
- noun
- Specialized
:
archivo de solo lectura
- Make sure you save your presentation as a read-only file before sharing it with others.
Examples
-
They were accommodated by setting up the PDM system so that read-only files could be checked out.
Academic text (1998) -
On the other hand, the erase counts for the blocks in which mostly read-only files, such as PC DOS system files, reside are small and rarely increased.
Academic text (1995) -
The document was saved as a read-only file, so no one could make changes to it.
-
Users can access the read-only file to view the information, but they cannot delete any content.
Antonyms
How Privileged
- Informal
26
3.6
- Specialized
1
6.7
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
read-only + file
The meaning 'a file that can be viewed but not modified' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'read' + 'only' applied to 'file' (i.e. a file for reading only). This follows a transparent adjective-noun compounding pattern common in English (and mirrored in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Read-only file comes from the simple idea of a book you can read but only look at, like a book kept under glass so you cannot write in it. So a read-only file is a file you can open and read but 'cannot be modified'.