Elegant

(From Mathematics) Combining simplicity, power, and a certain ineffable grace of design.

Higher praise than "clever", "winning" or even cuspy.

The French aviator, adventurer, and author Antoine de Saint-Exup'ery, probably best known for his classic children's book "The Little Prince", was also an aircraft designer.

He gave us perhaps the best definition of engineering elegance when he said "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

[Jargon File]

< Previous Terms	Terms Containing elegant	Next Terms >
Electronics Industry Association electronic whiteboarding electron model electron tube Electrostatic Discharge	ALGOL 60 AMD 29000 Apollo Computer bag on the side brute force and ignorance	element elephant elephantine elevator controller ELF