index

I. noun (plural indexes or indices) Etymology: Latin indic-, index, from indicare to indicate Date: 1561 1. a. a device (as the pointer on a scale or the gnomon of a sundial) that serves to indicate a value or quantity b. something (as a physical feature or a mode of expression) that leads one to a particular fact or conclusion ; indication 2. a list (as of bibliographical information or citations to a body of literature) arranged usually in alphabetical order of some specified datum (as author, subject, or keyword): as a. a list of items (as topics or names) treated in a printed work that gives for each item the page number where it may be found b. thumb index c. a bibliographical analysis of groups of publications that is usually published periodically d. a list of publicly traded companies and their stock prices 3. a list of restricted or prohibited material; specifically capitalized a formerly published list of books the reading of which was prohibited or restricted for Roman Catholics by the church authorities 4. plural usually indices a number or symbol or expression (as an exponent) associated with another to indicate a mathematical operation to be performed or to indicate use or position in an arrangement <

3 is the index of the expression ∛5 to indicate the cube root of 5

> 5. a character ☞ used to direct attention to a note or paragraph — called also fist 6. a. a number (as a ratio) derived from a series of observations and used as an indicator or measure; specifically index number b. the ratio of one dimension of a thing (as an anatomical structure) to another dimension II. verb Date: 1720 transitive verb 1. a. to provide with an index b. to list in an index <

all persons and places mentioned are carefully indexed

> 2. to serve as an index of 3. to regulate (as wages, prices, or interest rates) by indexation intransitive verb to index something • indexer noun