descriptor

Other forms: descriptors

Definitions of descriptor

1. noun

   the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
   synonyms: form, signifier, word form

   types:

   plural, plural form

   the form of a word that is used to denote more than one

   singular, singular form

   the form of a word that is used to denote a singleton

   ghost word

   a word form that has entered the language through the perpetuation of an error

   base, radical, root, root word, stem, theme

   (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

   etymon, root

   a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes

   citation form, entry word, main entry word

   the form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary

   abbreviation

   a shortened form of a word or phrase

   acronym

   a word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name

   apocope

   abbreviation of a word by omitting the final sound or sounds

   type of:

   word

   a unit of language that native speakers can identify
2. noun

   a piece of stored information that is used to identify an item in an information storage and retrieval system
   type of:

   information

   knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction