Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Scope \Scope\, n. [It. scopo, L. scopos a mark, aim, Gr.
   skopo`s, a watcher, mark, aim; akin to ?, ? to view, and
   perh. to E. spy. Cf. {Skeptic}, {Bishop}.]
   1. That at which one aims; the thing or end to which the mind
      directs its view; that which is purposed to be reached or
      accomplished; hence, ultimate design, aim, or purpose;
      intention; drift; object. ``Shooting wide, do miss the
      marked scope.'' --Spenser.

            Your scope is as mine own, So to enforce or qualify
            the laws As to your soul seems good.  --Shak.

            The scope of all their pleading against man's
            authority, is to overthrow such laws and
            constitutions in the church.          --Hooker.

   2. Room or opportunity for free outlook or aim; space for
      action; amplitude of opportunity; free course or vent;
      liberty; range of view, intent, or action.

            Give him line and scope.              --Shak.

            In the fate and fortunes of the human race, scope is
            given to the operation of laws which man must always
            fail to discern the reasons of.       --I. Taylor.

            Excuse me if I have given too much scope to the
            reflections which have arisen in my mind. --Burke.

            An intellectual cultivation of no moderate depth or
            scope.                                --Hawthorne.

   3. Extended area. [Obs.] ``The scopes of land granted to the
      first adventurers.'' --Sir J. Davies.

   4. Length; extent; sweep; as, scope of cable.

Source : WordNet®

scope
     n 1: an area in which something acts or operates or has power or
          control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; "the ambit of
          municipal legislation"; "within the compass of this
          article"; "within the scope of an investigation";
          "outside the reach of the law"; "in the political orbit
          of a world power" [syn: {range}, {reach}, {orbit}, {compass},
           {ambit}]
     2: the state of the environment in which a situation exists;
        "you can't do that in a university setting" [syn: {setting},
         {background}]
     3: a magnifier of images of distant objects [syn: {telescope}]
     4: electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying
        electrical quantities [syn: {oscilloscope}, {cathode-ray
        oscilloscope}, {CRO}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

SCOPE
     
         Software Evaluation and Certification Programme
        Europe.
     
        An {ESPRIT} project.
     
        (1995-04-12)

scope
     
         The scope of an identifier is the region of a
        program source within which it represents a certain thing.
        This usually extends from the place where it is declared to
        the end of the smallest enclosing block (begin/end or
        procedure/function body).  An inner block may contain a
        redeclaration of the same identifier in which case the scope
        of the outer declaration does not include (is "shadowed" or
        "{occlude}d" by) the scope of the inner.
     
        See also {activation record}, {dynamic scope}, {lexical
        scope}.
     
        (1994-11-01)