cue

cue ¹

1. Games A long tapered rod with a leather tip used to strike the cue ball in billiards and pool.
2. Games A long stick with a concave attachment at one end for shoving disks in shuffleboard.
3. A queue of hair.
4. A line of waiting people or vehicles; a queue.

1. Games To strike with a cue.
2. To braid or twist (hair) into a queue.

Origin: Variant of queue.

cue ²

1. A signal, such as a word or action, used to prompt another event in a performance, such as an actor's speech or entrance, a change in lighting, or a sound effect.
2. a. A reminder or prompting.
   b. A hint or suggestion.
3. Music
   a. An extract from the music for another part printed, usually in smaller notes, within a performer's part as a signal to enter after a long rest.
   b. A gesture by a conductor signaling the entrance of a performer or part.
4. Psychology A stimulus, either consciously or unconsciously perceived, that elicits or signals a type of behavior.
5. Archaic One's assigned role or function.
6. Archaic A mood; a disposition.

1. To give a cue to; signal or prompt.
2. To insert into the sequence of a performance: cued the lights for the monologue scene.
3. To position (an audio or video recording) in readiness for playing: cue up a record on the turntable.

Origin: Perhaps from q, qu, abbreviation of Latin quandō, when, used for actors' copies of plays; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.

cue ³