Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Convert \Con*vert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Converted}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Converting}.] [L. convertere, -versum; con- + vertere
   to turn: cf. F. convertir. See {Verse}.]
   1. To cause to turn; to turn. [Obs.]

            O, which way shall I first convert myself? --B.
                                                  Jonson.

   2. To change or turn from one state or condition to another;
      to alter in form, substance, or quality; to transform; to
      transmute; as, to convert water into ice.

            If the whole atmosphere were converted into water.
                                                  --T. Burnet.

            That still lessens The sorrow, and converts it nigh
            to joy.                               --Milton.

   3. To change or turn from one belief or course to another, as
      from one religion to another or from one party or sect to
      another.

            No attempt was made to convert the Moslems.
                                                  --Prescott.

   4. To produce the spiritual change called conversion in (any
      one); to turn from a bad life to a good one; to change the
      heart and moral character of (any one) from the
      controlling power of sin to that of holiness.

            He which converteth the sinner from the error of his
            way shall save a soul from death.     --Lames v. 20.

   5. To apply to any use by a diversion from the proper or
      intended use; to appropriate dishonestly or illegally.

            When a bystander took a coin to get it changed, and
            converted it, [it was] held no larceny. --Cooley.

   6. To exchange for some specified equivalent; as, to convert
      goods into money.

   7. (Logic) To change (one proposition) into another, so that
      what was the subject of the first becomes the predicate of
      the second.

   8. To turn into another language; to translate. [Obs.]

            Which story . . . Catullus more elegantly converted.
                                                  --B. Jonson.

   {Converted guns}, cast-iron guns lined with wrought-iron or
      steel tubes. --Farrow.

   {Converting furnace} (Steel Manuf.), a furnace in which
      wrought iron is converted into steel by cementation.

   Syn: To change; turn; transmute; appropriate.

Convert \Con*vert"\, v. i.
   To be turned or changed in character or direction; to undergo
   a change, physically or morally.

         If Nebo had had the preaching that thou hast, they [the
         Neboites] would have converted.          --Latimer.

         A red dust which converth into worms.    --Sandys.

         The public hope And eye to thee converting. --Thomson.

Convert \Con"vert\, n.
   1. A person who is converted from one opinion or practice to
      another; a person who is won over to, or heartily
      embraces, a creed, religious system, or party, in which he
      has not previously believed; especially, one who turns
      from the controlling power of sin to that of holiness, or
      from unbelief to Christianity.

            The Jesuits did not persuade the converts to lay
            aside the use of images.              --Bp.
                                                  Stillingfleet.

   2. A lay friar or brother, permitted to enter a monastery for
      the service of the house, but without orders, and not
      allowed to sing in the choir.

   Syn: Proselyte; neophyte.

   Usage: {Convert}, {Proselyte}, {Pervert}. A convert is one
          who turns from what he believes to have been a decided
          error of faith or practice. Such a change may relate
          to religion, politics, or other subjects. properly
          considered, it is not confined to speculation alone,
          but affects the whole current of one's feelings and
          the tenor of his actions. As such a change carries
          with it the appearance of sincerity, the term convert
          is usually taken in a good sense. Proselyte is a term
          of more ambiguous use and application. It was first
          applied to an adherent of one religious system who had
          transferred himself externally to some other religious
          system; and is also applied to one who makes a similar
          transfer in respect to systems of philosophy or
          speculation. The term has little or no reference to
          the state of the heart. Pervert is a term of recent
          origin, designed to express the contrary of convert,
          and to stigmatize a person as drawn off perverted from
          the true faith. It has been more particulary applied
          by members of the Church of England to those who have
          joined the Roman Catholic Church.

Source : WordNet®

convert
     n : a person who has been converted to another religious or
         political belief

convert
     v 1: change the nature, purpose, or function of something;
          "convert lead into gold"; "convert hotels into jails";
          "convert slaves to laborers"
     2: change from one system to another or to a new plan or
        policy; "We converted from 220 to 110 Volt" [syn: {change
        over}]
     3: change religious beliefs, or adopt a religious belief; "She
        converted to Buddhism"
     4: exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind
        or category; "Could you convert my dollars into pounds?";
        "He changed his name"; "convert centimeters into inches";
        "convert holdings into shares" [syn: {change}, {exchange},
         {commute}]
     5: cause to adopt a new or different faith; "The missionaries
        converted the Indian population"
     6: score an extra point or points after touchdown by kicking
        the ball through the uprights or advancing the ball into
        the endzone; "Smith converted and his team won"
     7: complete successfully; "score a penalty shot or free throw"
     8: score (a spare)
     9: make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or
        validity of something; "He had finally convinced several
        customers of the advantages of his product" [syn: {win
        over}, {convince}]
     10: exchange a penalty for a less severe one [syn: {commute}, {exchange}]
     11: change in nature, purpose, or function; especially undergo a
         chemical change; "The substance converts to an acid"

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

CONVERT
     
        1. String processing language, combined the pattern matching
        and transformation operations of COMIT with the recursive data
        structures of Lisp.  "Convert", A. Guzman et al, CACM
        9(8):604-615 (Aug 1966).
     
        2. Early language to convert programs and data from one
        language to another.  "CONVERT Manual", OLI Systems Inc (Oct
        1976).