system meaning
All systems have (a) inputs, outputs and feedback mechanisms, (b) maintain an internal steady-state (called homeostasis) despite a changing external environment, (c) display properties that are different than the whole (called emergent properties) but are not possessed by any of the individual elements, and (d) have boundaries that are usually defined by the system observer.
Although different types of systems (from a cell to the human body, soap bubbles to galaxies, ant colonies to nations) look very different on the surface, they have remarkable similarities. At the most basic level, systems are divided into two categories: (1) Closed systems: theoretical systems that do not interact with the environment and are not influenced by its surroundings. Only the components within the system are significant. Example: a sealed jar–nothing enters or exits the jar, but whatever is inside can interact. (2) Open systems: real-world systems whose boundaries allow exchanges of energy, material and information with the larger external environment or system in which they exist.
a system generating hydrogen peroxide
exercise helped him get the alcohol out of his system
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References:
http://www.etymonline.com/word/system
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/turnkey_system.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=School