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Glite Dictionary
📝 A describing word 💾 An ID in computing
descriptor

descriptor

1 6.3
A piece of stored information used to identify a file
  • noun
  • /dɪˈskrɛptər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : descriptor
  • Students in introductory coaching classes (N=391) provided positive behavioral descriptors (n=2580) of their favorite coach from their athletic careers.
  • file descriptor

Examples

  • The package for each object type contains A descriptor file, and these are the four different object types we store in the DRS.

  • The phrase "starry sky appearance" is not one coined by the pathologist; it is a designated descriptor in his field.

    Academic text (2014)

  • And here is the is the report descriptor saying that this is a constant.

  • Now we have other sort descriptor obviously let's sort by I think arrival time.

  • And I just, I asked them for the descriptors that they would use.

  • 3D models are numerical descriptors comprising information about geometry (x, y, z coordinate values) and topology (the description of inter-point connectivity).

    Academic text (2017)

  • In programming, a file descriptor is used to identify an open file or socket.

  • The application generates a unique descriptor for each item in the database to ensure accurate retrieval.

  • The search engine uses metadata as a descriptor to improve the accuracy of the search results.

Synonyms

label
vsdescriptor
187 1.0

A word or short phrase that describes people and things

is stored in systems as retrievable metadata for finding items
identifier
vsdescriptor
  • Specialized
22 4.9

A word, number and symbol that shows a person or thing

is stored in retrieval systems and may not uniquely single out items

Surface Forms

descriptor singular
descriptors plural

Morphology

descriptor = describe (transparent) = describe + or

Computing sense is a specialized application but still denotes 'a label or descriptor'—directly derived from 'describe' + '-or'.

Etymology

The word descriptor comes from parts meaning 'down' (de-) and 'to write' (scribere), like in describe and scribe. In computing, a descriptor is like a small label that 'writes down' key facts about a file, so the system can identify or find the item.