existential type

existential typenoun

• 1

  computingengineeringmathematicsIn a type system: a type that hides the underlying concrete type(s).

  • Existential types are fundamentally no more complicated than universal types (in fact, we will see in §24.3 that existentials can straightforwardly be encoded in terms of universals).
  • Scala 2 supported existential types, a way of abstracting over types. They let you assert that some type exists without specifying exactly what it is, usually because you don't know what it is and you don't need to know it in the current context.
• 2

  Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see existential, type.

  • This is an existential type of anxiety that stems from the feeling that we are not at home in this world.
  • He was an existential type dude with no belongings to speak of. He didn't care about tomorrow; he lived in the moment. He was always reading a book; quiet yet explosive.