active

Etymology

From Middle English actyf, from Old French actif, from Latin activus, from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Morphologically act + -ive.

adj

1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives.
   certain active principles
   the active powers of the mind
2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble.
   an active child or animal
3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force
   active laws
   active hostilities
   1. (specifically, of certain geological features, such as volcano, geysers, etc) Emitting hot materials, such as lava, smoke, or steam, or producing tremors.
4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy
   an active man of business
   active mind
   active zeal
5. Requiring or implying action or exertion
   active employment or service
   active scenes
6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative
   an active rather than a speculative statesman
7. Brisk; lively.
   an active demand for corn
8. Implying or producing rapid action.
   an active disease
   an active remedy
9. (heading, grammar) About verbs.
   1. Applied to a form of the verb; — opposed to passive. See active voice.
   2. Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts upon or affects something else; transitive.
   3. Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct from mere existence or state.
10. (computing, of source code) Eligible to be processed by a compiler or interpreter.
    I think it should be upgraded to Visual BASIC, but I'm no good at that. So maybe someone here would like to take a crack at it. There are only 40 lines of active code, plus a few REMs. About 100 BASIC commands altogether. 2006-12-24, David Williams, “satellite program”, in comp.lang.basic.visual.misc (Usenet)
    Edge uses green text for comments. This makes it easier for you to quickly differentiate between active code and comments. 2012, Chris Grover, “Triggering Actions”, in Adobe Edge Preview 5: The Missing Manual, 3rd edition, Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media, page 98
11. (electronics) Not passive.
12. (gay sexual slang) (of a homosexual man) enjoying a role in anal sex in which he penetrates, rather than being penetrated by his partner.

noun

1. A person or thing that is acting or capable of acting.
   "Alumni could become more active in giving guidance and leadership to students. They act as sort of a 'maturity governor' on fraternities," notes Ratliff, citing surveys suggesting that fraternity actives presume mistakenly that alumni want hazing […] 1989, The Alcalde, volume 78, number 2, page 11
2. (electronics) Any component that is not passive. See Passivity (engineering).
   Components are split into two broad segments: actives and passives. Active components like the vacuum tube and the transistor contain the power to generate and alter electrical signals. 2013, David Manners, Hitchhikers' Guide to Electronics in the '90s, page 36