glossy

adj 1: having a smooth, gleaming surface; "glossy auburn hair";

"satiny gardenia petals"; "sleek black fur"; "silken

eyelashes"; "silky skin"; "a silklike fabric"; "slick

seals and otters" [syn: {satin(a)}, {satiny}, {sleek},

{silken}, {silky}, {silklike}, {slick}]

2: (of paper and fabric and leather) having a surface made

smooth and glossy especially by pressing between rollers;

"calendered paper"; "a dress of glossy sateen" [syn: {calendered}]

3: reflecting light; "glistening bodies of swimmers"; "the

horse's glossy coat"; "lustrous auburn hair"; "saw the

moon like a shiny dime on a deep blue velvet carpet";

"shining white enamel" [syn: {glistening}, {lustrous}, {sheeny},

{shiny}, {shining}]

lossy

A term describing a data {compression} {algorithm}

which actually reduces the amount of information in the data,

rather than just the number of bits used to represent that

information. The lost information is usually removed because

it is subjectively less important to the quality of the data

(usually an {image} or {sound}) or because it can be recovered

reasonably by {interpolation} from the remaining data.

{MPEG} and {JPEG} are examples of lossy compression

techniques.

Opposite: {lossless}.

(1995-03-29)