message

1. Any thought or idea expressed briefly in a plain or secret language, prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication. [JP1] Note: A message may be a one-unit message or a multiunit message. 2. [In telecommunications,] Record information expressed in plain or encrypted language and prepared in a format specified for intended transmission by a telecommunications system. [JP1] 3. An arbitrary amount of information whose beginning and end are defined or implied.