Nofollowing

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Adding an attribute to a hyperlink so that search engines are told not to follow it or pass ranking credit through it
2. Tagging a web link with a code that instructs search crawlers to skip it and not count it as an endorsement
3. Labeling a hyperlink on a web page so that search engine bots do not traverse it or credit the linked site

Etymology: "Nofollowing" is a compound built from "no" and "following," and its history is recent and plain. It belongs to the vocabulary of web search, where "nofollow" is an instruction that a page author places in a link's HTML to tell search engines not to pass ranking credit to the linked page. The adjective describes such a link, or an attribute, that carries that instruction. The term follows the sense of "follow" used in social media and web publishing, where a link or account is "followed" when a crawler or user is directed along it. Adding "no" simply negates that action. Because the word is a technical coinage rather than a traditional English term, its exact date of first use is uncertain, and it is not recorded in older dictionaries.