Indexing

How to spell indexing

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce indexing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does indexing mean?

1. nounThe act or process of arranging entries, records, or contents so that specific items can be located quickly.
2. nounThe practice of linking a payment, wage, or pension to a price index so it rises with inflation.

Indexing in a sentence

• The librarian spent the afternoon indexing the new acquisitions.

• Automatic indexing kept the pensions level with rising prices.

• Careful indexing of the report made every figure easy to find.

• The union demanded the indexing of salaries to the cost of living.

Where does indexing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the Latin index, which literally meant 'the forefinger', the digit you point with, and by extension came to mean any pointer, sign, or list that directs attention. That noun was built on the verb indicare, 'to point out' or 'to make known', the same source that gives us 'indicate' and 'indication'. English took up 'index' in the late 1500s for an alphabetical pointer to the contents of a book, and the verb 'to index' (to provide something with an index, or to enter it in one) followed naturally. Adding the ordinary English ending -ing produced 'indexing', the act or process of arranging items so they can be found. The spelling stays regular because index already ends in a hard 'x', so no consonant is doubled; the trap is simply remembering that single 'x' rather than slipping toward an unwanted double letter.

How the word is built

• index (from Latin index: pointer, forefinger)
• -ing (verbal noun / present participle suffix)