Indexing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of organizing or listing items systematically to allow easy retrieval ; the act of assigning descriptive terms or codes to content for identification or classification
2. Systematically arranging data, documents, or information so it can be found quickly ; the practice of tagging or labeling materials with keywords to improve searchability
3. Creating a structured list or catalog to facilitate locating information ; marking or coding items with useful descriptors to categorize and access them efficiently

Etymology: "Indexing" is the present participle of the verb "to index," which comes from the Latin noun "index," meaning forefinger, the finger that points something out. That noun grew from the verb "indicare," "to point out," so the root sense is an act of directing someone's attention. In Latin, "index" came to mean a sign, a informer, or a list, so a catalogue that points readers to where things are fits its original sense. English adopted the word for an alphabetical list of contents, and the verb for compiling such lists developed from that noun.

Synonyms: cataloging, listing, organizing