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ambiguity - The many meanings of "nominal"


I work in software in a technology field, and hear the word nominal tossed around quite a bit. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding which meaning people are intending. Maybe I have a mental block, but this word really gets me. For example, Dictionary.com gives as many as ten definitions!



adjective




  1. being such in name only; so-called; putative: a nominal treaty; the nominal head of the country.




  2. (of a price, consideration, etc.) named as a mere matter of form, being trifling in comparison with the actual value; minimal.




  3. of, relating to, or constituting a name or names.




  4. Grammar. of, relating to, or producing a noun or nouns: a nominal suffix. functioning as or like a noun.




  5. assigned to a person by name: nominal shares of stock.




  6. containing, bearing, or giving a name or names.




  7. (of money, income, or the like) measured in an amount rather than in real value: Nominal wages have risen 50 percent, but real wages are down because of inflation.




  8. Aerospace. performing or achieved within expected, acceptable limits; normal and satisfactory: The mission was nominal throughout.




  9. Slang. done smoothly as expected: The space shot was nominal, proceeding without a hitch.




noun



  1. Grammar. a word or group of words functioning as a noun.



The usage I'm seeing it in right now is “When the system enters this mode, these portions of it are active and power consumption is nominal.”


I think the author intended meaning #8 or possibly meaning #2. I'm leaning towards #8.


I can't just ask the author of the paper which meaning they meant, so which would it be?


In the future when I hear someone use the word nominal, I intend to pull out my list of synonyms and ask them which one they mean (if any!).




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