What is "index"

Index \In"dex\, n.; pl. E. Indexes, L. Indices(?). [L.: cf. F. index. See Indicate, Diction.]

1. That which points out; that which shows, indicates, manifests, or discloses; as, the increasing unemployment rate is an index of how much the economy has slowed.

   Tastes are the indexes of the different qualities of plants.
   --Arbuthnot.

2. That which guides, points out, informs, or directs; a pointer or a hand that directs to anything, as the hand of a watch, a movable finger or other form of pointer on a gauge, scale, or other graduated instrument. In (printing), a sign [[hand]] (called also fist) used to direct particular attention to a note or paragraph.

3. A table for facilitating reference to topics, names, and the like, in a book, usually giving the page on which a particular word or topic may be found; -- usually alphabetical in arrangement, and printed at the end of the volume. Typically found only in non-fiction books.

4. A prologue indicating what follows. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

5. (Anat.) The second finger, that next to the pollex (thumb), in the manus, or hand; the forefinger; index finger.

6. (Math.) The figure or letter which shows the power or root of a quantity; the exponent. [In this sense the plural is always indices.]

7. The ratio, or formula expressing the ratio, of one dimension of a thing to another dimension; as, the vertical index of the cranium.

8. A number providing a measure of some quantity derived by a formula, usually a form of averaging, from multiple quantities; -- used mostly in economics; as, the index of leading indicators; the index of industrial production; the consumer price index. See, for example, the consumer price index.

9. (computers) A file containing a table with the addresses of data items, arranged for rapid and convenient search for the addresses.

10. (computers) A number which serves as a label for a data item and also represents the address of a data item within a table or array.

11. (R. C. Ch.), The Index prohibitorius, a catalogue of books which are forbidden by the church to be read; also called Index of forbidden books and Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

    Index error, the error in the reading of a mathematical instrument arising from the zero of the index not being in complete adjustment with that of the limb, or with its theoretically perfect position in the instrument; a correction to be applied to the instrument readings equal to the error of the zero adjustment.

    Index expurgatorius. [L.] See Index prohibitorius (below).

    Index finger. See Index, 5.

    Index glass, the mirror on the index of a quadrant, sextant, etc.

    Index hand, the pointer or hand of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; a hand that points to something.

    Index of a logarithm (Math.), the integral part of the logarithm, and always one less than the number of integral figures in the given number. It is also called the characteristic.

    Index of refraction, or Refractive index (Opt.), the number which expresses the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction. Thus the index of refraction for sulphur is 2, because, when light passes out of air into sulphur, the sine of the angle of incidence is double the sine of the angle of refraction.

    Index plate, a graduated circular plate, or one with circular rows of holes differently spaced; used in machines for graduating circles, cutting gear teeth, etc.

    Index prohibitorius [L.], or Prohibitory index (R. C. Ch.), a catalogue of books which are forbidden by the church to be read; the index expurgatorius [L.], or expurgatory index, is a catalogue of books from which passages marked as against faith or morals must be removed before Catholics can read them. These catalogues are published with additions, from time to time, by the Congregation of the Index, composed of cardinals, theologians, etc., under the sanction of the pope.
    --Hook.

    Index rerum [L.], a tabulated and alphabetized notebook, for systematic preservation of items, quotations, etc.

Index \In"dex\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Indexed; p. pr. & vb. n. Indexing.]

1. To provide with an index or table of references; to put into an index; as, to index a book, or its contents.

2. (Economics) To adjust (wages, prices, taxes, etc.) automatically so as to compensate for changes in prices, usually as measured by the consumer price index or other economic measure. Its purpose is usually to copensate for inflation.

3. To insert (a word, name, file folder, etc.) into an index or into an indexed arrangement; as, to index a contract under its date of signing.

late 14c., "the forefinger," from Latin index (genitive indicis) "forefinger, pointer, sign, list," literally "anything which points out," from indicare "point out" (see indication). Meaning "list of a book's contents" is first attested 1570s, from Latin phrases such as Index Nominum "Index of Names," index expurgatorius "specification of passages to be deleted from works otherwise permitted." Scientific sense (refractive index, etc.) is from 1829; economic sense (cost-of-living index, etc.) is from 1870, from the scientific usage, from sense "an indicator." The Church sense of "forbidden books" is from index librorum prohibitorum, first published 1564 by authority of Pius IV.

"compile an index," 1720, from index (n.). Related: Indexed; indexing.

n. 1 An alphabetical listing of items and their location. 2 The index finger; the forefinger. 3 A movable finger on a gauge, scale, etc. 4 (context printing English) A symbol resembling a pointing hand, used to direct particular attention to a note or paragraph. 5 That which points out; that which shows, indicates, manifests, or discloses. 6 A sign; an indication; a token. 7 (context linguistics English) A type of noun where the meaning of the form changes with respect to the context. E.g., 'Today's newspaper' is an indexical form since its referent will differ depending on the context. See also icon and symbol. 8 (context economics English) A single number calculated from an array of prices or of quantities. 9 (context science English) A number representing a property or ratio, a coefficient. 10 (context mathematics English) A raised suffix indicating a power. 11 (context programming computing English) An integer or other key indicating the location of data e.g. within an array, vector, database table, associative array, or hash table. 12 (context computing databases English) A data structure that improves the performance of operations on a table. 13 (context obsolete English) A prologue indicating what follows. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To arrange an index for something, especially a long text. 2 To inventory, to take stock.

1. n. a numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number

2. a number or ratio (a value on a scale of measurement) derived from a series of observed facts; can reveal relative changes as a function of time [syn: index number, indicant, indicator]

3. a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself [syn: exponent, power]

4. an alphabetical listing of names and topics along with page numbers where they are discussed

5. the finger next to the thumb [syn: index finger, forefinger]

6. [also: indices (pl)]

1. v. list in an index

2. provide with an index; "index the book"

3. adjust through indexation; "The government indexes wages and prices"

4. [also: indices (pl)]

INDEX, an acronym for Information through Disguised Experimentation is an annual market research fair conducted by the students of IIM-Lucknow. Students create games and various other simulated environments, to capture consumers’ subconscious thoughts. This innovative method of market research removes the sensitization effect that might bias peoples answers to questions. This ensures that the most truthful answers are captured to research questions. The games are designed in such a way that the observers can elicit all the required information just by observing and noting down the behaviour and the responses of the participants.

INDEX is primarily a fair conducted in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, which provides the people of the city an opportunity to experience the elements of a mela. Apart from the market research, the fair also attracts crowds through various innovative and interactive entertainment forums such as song and dance events, games, competitions and the many local vendors displaying their goods and services at the ground. The carnival atmosphere generates enthusiasm among the crowd, which leads to a more comprehensive research opportunity for the students to understand market insights in a live environment.

An index (plural: usually indexes, see below) is a list of words or phrases ('headings') and associated pointers ('locators') to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document or on a page. In a traditional back-of-the-book index the headings will include names of people, places and events, and concepts selected by a person as being relevant and of interest to a possible reader of the book. The pointers are typically page numbers, paragraph numbers or section numbers. In a library catalog the words are authors, titles, subject headings, etc., and the pointers are call numbers. Internet search engines, such as Google, and full text searching help provide access to information but are not as selective as an index, as they provide non-relevant links, and may miss relevant information if it is not phrased in exactly the way they expect.

Perhaps the most advanced investigation of problems related to book indexes is made in the development of topic maps, which started as a way of representing the knowledge structures inherent in traditional back-of-the-book indexes.

In economics and finance, an index is a statistical measure of changes in a representative group of individual data points. These data may be derived from any number of sources, including company performance, prices, productivity, and employment. Economic indices track economic health from different perspectives. Influential global financial indices such as the Global Dow, and the NASDAQ Composite track the performance of selected large and powerful companies in order to evaluate and predict economic trends. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 primarily track U.S. markets, though some legacy international companies are included. The consumer price index tracks the variation in prices for different consumer goods and services over time in a constant geographical location, and is integral to calculations used to adjust salaries, bond interest rates, and tax thresholds for inflation. The GDP Deflator Index, or real GDP, measures the level of prices of all new, domestically produced, final goods and services in an economy. Market performance indices include the labour market index/ job index and proprietary stock market index investment instruments offered by brokerage houses.

Some indices display market variations that cannot be captured in other ways. For example, the Economist provides a Big Mac Index that expresses the adjusted cost of a globally ubiquitous Big Mac as a percentage over or under the cost of a Big Mac in the U.S. in USD (estimated: $3.57). The least relatively expensive Big Mac price occurs in Hong Kong, at a 52% reduction from U.S. prices, or $1.71 U.S. Such indices can be used to help forecast currency values. From this example, it would be assumed that Hong Kong currency is undervalued, and provides a currency investment opportunity.

The symbol ☞ is a punctuation mark, called an index, manicule (from the Latin root manus for "hand" and manicula for "little hand") or fist. Other names for the symbol include printer's fist, bishop's fist, digit, mutton-fist, hand, hand director, pointer, and pointing hand.

Index was a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom, that was owned by Littlewoods from 1985 until 2005.

Many Index stores were attached to Littlewoods stores. It was a well-known retailer in the 1980s and the 1990s, but after sales began to decline in the 2000s, its popularity became disputable and it started losing many customers to its rival, Argos.

During their 20-year history, Index lost £100 million, eventually causing Littlewoods to sell the shops. Many of the branches were purchased by Argos. In October 2013, Argos announced that all stores are now owned by them and that Index will return to trading between February and March 2014.

In statistics and research design, an index is a composite statistic – a measure of changes in a representative group of individual data points, or in other words, a compound measure that aggregates multiple indicators. Indexes summarize and rank specific observations.

Much data in the field of social sciences is represented in various indices such as Gender Gap Index, Human Development Index or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Item in indexes are usually weighted equally, unless there are some reasons against it (for example, if two items reflect essentially the same aspect of a variable, they could have a weight of 0.5 each).

Constructing the items involves four steps. First, items should be selected based on their face validity, unidimensionality, the degree of specificity in which a dimension is to be measured, and their amount of variance. Items should be empirically related to one another, which leads to the second step of examining their multivariate relationships. Third, indexes scores are designed, which involves determining their score ranges and weights for the items. Finally, indexes should be validateds, which involves testing whether they can predict indicators related to the measured variable not used in their construction.

Index is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin landed the Lunar Module Falcon northwest of it in 1971, on the Apollo 15 mission, but they did not visit it. They intended to land closer to Index, but actually landed next to Last crater.

Index is the southernmost of a line of four craters which were used by the astronauts as landmarks during descent to the surface. The other three are called Luke, Mark, and Matthew, after three of the four major Gospels of the Bible. They were not allowed to call the crater John due to the fact that atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair had sued NASA for astronauts reading from Genesis during Apollo 8. The name Index was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973, but the other three crater names were not.