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Index

//ˈɪndɛks// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    An unincorporated community in Miller County, Arkansas.
  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Morgan County, Kentucky.
  3. 3
    A ghost town in Cass County, Missouri.
  4. 4
    A small hamlet in Otsego County, New York.
  5. 5
    An unincorporated community in King George County, Virginia.
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  1. 6
    A town in Snohomish County, Washington.
  2. 7
    An unincorporated community in Gilmer County, West Virginia.
Noun
  1. 1
    An alphabetical listing of items and their location.

    "The index of a book lists words or expressions and the pages of the book upon which they are to be found."

  2. 2
    the finger next to the thumb wordnet
  3. 3
    The index finger; the forefinger.
  4. 4
    an alphabetical listing of names and topics along with page numbers where they are discussed wordnet
  5. 5
    A movable finger on a gauge, scale, etc.
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  1. 6
    a number or ratio (a value on a scale of measurement) derived from a series of observed facts; can reveal relative changes as a function of time wordnet
  2. 7
    A symbol resembling a pointing hand, used to direct particular attention to a note or paragraph.
  3. 8
    a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself wordnet
  4. 9
    That which points out; that which shows, indicates, manifests, or discloses.

    "Tastes are the Indexes of the different Qualities of Plants."

  5. 10
    a numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number wordnet
  6. 11
    A sign; an indication; a token.

    "His son's empty guffaws […] struck him with pain as the indices of a weak mind."

  7. 12
    A type of noun where the meaning of the form changes with respect to the context; e.g., 'Today's newspaper' is an indexical form since its referent will differ depending on the context. See also icon and symbol.
  8. 13
    A single number calculated from an array of prices or of quantities.
  9. 14
    A number representing a property or ratio; a coefficient.

    "In other words, we predict that the index for a new pair of materials can be obtained from the indexes of the individual materials, both against air or against vacuum."

  10. 15
    A raised suffix indicating a power.
  11. 16
    An integer or other key indicating the location of data, e.g. within an array, vector, database table, associative array, or hash table. especially
  12. 17
    A data structure that improves the performance of operations on a table.
  13. 18
    The number of cosets that exist.

    "The index of 2ℤ in ℤ is 2."

  14. 19
    A prologue indicating what follows. obsolete

    "Ay me, what act, that roars so loud and thunders in the index?"

Verb
  1. 1
    To arrange an index for something, especially a long text. transitive

    "MySQL does not index short words and common words."

  2. 2
    adjust through indexation wordnet
  3. 3
    To inventory; to take stock.
  4. 4
    provide with an index wordnet
  5. 5
    To normalise in order to account for inflation; to correct for inflation by linking to a price index in order to maintain real levels.
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  1. 6
    list in an index wordnet
  2. 7
    To measure by an associated value.

    "For thousands of years, human progress was indexed to the ease and speed of our mobility: our capacity to walk on two legs, and then to ride on animals, sail on boats, chug across the land and fly through the air, all to procure for ourselves the food and materials we wanted."

  3. 8
    To be indexical for (some situation or state of affairs); to indicate. transitive

    "For example, the feature I indexes the current speaker in the speech event and you, the current addressee."

  4. 9
    To access a value in a data container by an index.
  5. 10
    To use a mechanism to move an object to a precise location. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin index (“a discoverer, informer, spy; of things, an indicator, the forefinger, a title, superscription”), from indicō (“point out, show”); see indicate.

Etymology 2

From Latin index (“a discoverer, informer, spy; of things, an indicator, the forefinger, a title, superscription”), from indicō (“point out, show”); see indicate.

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