Tokens

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of text or data used in natural language processing or computing contexts; a physical item representing value or eligibility in a system; a specific instance of a component within a larger set or framework
2. An element of text recognized in linguistic analysis or computer algorithms; an object that acts as a substitute or marker in various applications; an individual piece within a collection of items or resources
3. A discrete fragment of language or information processed by software; a symbol or item utilized for transactions or access; one distinct element from a group serving a particular function or role

Etymology: The word is the plural of "token", and the noun's roots run back to a verb meaning "to show, instruct, teach" in the ancestral language of the Germanic peoples. From that sense grew the Proto-Germanic "taiknō", meaning an indicator or sign, which passed into Old English as "tācn", a sign or symbol. Middle English turned it into "token", and the verb form, "toknen" in Middle English, descends from the Old English "tācnian", meaning to signify or indicate. Many of English's neighbours kept the same root. Dutch has "teken", German has "Zeichen" as its everyday word for sign, Swedish has "tecken", and Icelandic has "tákn" for symbol, a sign that the word's core idea of pointing something out has stayed fairly steady for well over a thousand years.

Synonyms: symbols, marks