predefinida

Predefinida is the feminine singular form of the Spanish adjective predefinido, meaning defined beforehand or established in advance. It is used to describe something that has been fixed, established or provided by a system, policy, or standard rather than created or chosen at the moment of reference. The term derives from pre- (“before”) and definido (“defined”).

Commonly used across various domains, predefinida appears in technology, data management, documentation, and everyday language to indicate established elements such as values, templates, or configurations. For example, a lista predefinida de países in a form, predefined constants in a programming library, or predefined document templates in a workflow.

In a software context, predefined elements help ensure consistency, speed up setup, and improve reproducibility by offering ready-made options. They can also limit flexibility, since users may need to override or extend them to fit specific requirements.

Beyond computing, predefinida can describe standards, procedures, or linguistic norms that are established by policy or consensus rather than by individual choice. The term is often contrasted with definitions or options that are “definidas por el usuario” (user-defined) or “personalizadas” (customized).

See also: predefinido, definido, predefined (in English).