Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks; a proposition for discussion or argument; a text.

2. (n.) Discourse on a certain subject.

3. (n.) A composition or essay required of a pupil.

4. (n.) A noun or verb, not modified by inflections; also, that part of a noun or verb which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) in declension or conjugation; stem.

5. (n.) That by means of which a thing is done; means; instrument.

6. (n.) The leading subject of a composition or a movement.