Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

makefile
     
        A script which tells the Unix program "{make}" how to build a
        particular computer program or set of programs.  A makefile
        contains variable assignments and rules of the form
     
        	target: inputs
        		commands
     
        which say if any of the files in "inputs" has been modified
        more recently than file "target" (or if the target does not
        exist) then execute "commands", which will normally bulid
        "target" from "inputs".
     
        If make is run with no arguments, it looks for a makefile
        called "Makefile" or "makefile".
     
        (1995-01-05)