Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Framework \Frame"work`\, n.
   1. The work of framing, or the completed work; the frame or
      constructional part of anything; as, the framework of
      society.

            A staunch and solid piece of framework. --Milton.

   2. Work done in, or by means of, a frame or loom.

Source : WordNet®

framework
     n 1: a simplified description of a complex entity or process;
          "the computer program was based on a model of the
          circulatory and respiratory systems" [syn: {model}, {theoretical
          account}]
     2: the underlying structure; "restoring the framework of the
        bombed building"; "it is part of the fabric of society"
        [syn: {fabric}]
     3: a structure supporting or containing something [syn: {frame},
         {framing}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

framework
     
        In {object-oriented} systems, a set of {class}es that embodies
        an abstract design for solutions to a number of related
        problems.
     
        (1995-01-30)