From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Mechanical, Computerstemplatetem‧plate /ˈtempleɪt, -plət/ noun [countable]1TEMTBa thinsheet of plastic or metal in a specialshape or pattern, used to help cut other materials in a similar shape2technicalTD a computerdocumentcontaining some basic information that you use as a model for writing other documents, such as business letters, envelopes etc3written something that is used as a model for another thingtemplate forHer childhood became a template for how she brought up her own children.Examples from the Corpustemplate• The wall thus provides a template for the pattern of the migratingcells.• We used a template and inserted or copiedtext wherever variable information was needed.• Now we will create the form-letter template that we will later copy variable information into from another document.• In our hands, these precipitations result in progressively diminishedyields of potentialtemplate cDNA for amplification.• And as an aid to drilling, make a simpletemplate from a length of batten.• The template can be anything from a simple list of stories to a traditionalnewspaperlayout with headlines of differingsizes.Origintemplate(1600-1700)Frenchtemplet, from temple"instrument in a loom for keeping the cloth stretched", probably from Latintemplum; → TEMPLE