# label

Pronunciation: say "LAY-buhl" US/UK /ˈleɪ.bəl/, AUS /ˈlæɪ.bəl/

## Noun

1. A small ticket or sign attached to an object, giving information about it.
   - Simple: A small tag or sticker that gives information about the thing it is attached to.
   - _The shipping label listed the recipient's address and the package weight._
   - _He peeled the label off the bottle before recycling it._
2. A name applied to someone or something to categorize them as part of a particular social group.
   - Simple: A name people give to a person or group to put them in a category.
   - _Critics resented the 'sellout' label pinned on the band after their hit single._
   - _Society is quick to attach labels like 'genius' or 'failure' to young people._
5. A company in the music industry that sells records.
   - Simple: A company that puts out and sells music recordings.
   - _The label dropped three artists after the merger._
   - _Independent labels often take creative risks that the major ones avoid._
6. A non-interactive interface element that displays text, often describing the purpose of another control.
   - Simple: A piece of text on a screen that names or explains a button or box.
   - _The form's labels guide users through each required field._
   - _A developer added a label above the dropdown to clarify its purpose._
7. A small strip, especially of paper or parchment (sometimes a piece fixed to parchment to carry the seal), but also of iron, brass, land, and similar materials.
   - Simple: A thin strip of material, such as paper, parchment, metal, or even land.
   - _A narrow label of brass ran along the edge of the wooden chest._
   - _Each charter bore a label of parchment to which the seal was fixed._
8. Additional written material used to supplement a document or other item, including a codicil to a will.
   - Simple: An extra piece of writing added to a document, such as a note added to a will.
   - _A label appended to the original deed altered the terms of inheritance._
   - _The notary attached a label setting out the changes the testator wished to make._
9. In medieval and later art, a depicted band or scroll bearing an inscription.
   - Simple: In old art, a painted band or scroll that holds written words.
   - _A label unfurling from the angel's hand bore the words of the annunciation._
   - _Heraldic painters often added labels to identify the figures in a scene._
10. A programmer-defined name that stands in for a numeric value, working as the inverse of an enumeration.
   - Simple: A name a programmer gives to a number so the number is easier to read and use.
   - _The programmer defined a label for each error number to make the source readable._
   - _Instead of writing the raw value, refer to its label in the lookup table._
11. A named point in source code that a GOTO or similar instruction can jump to.
   - Simple: A name marking a spot in code that the program can jump straight to.
   - _Each label gives the GOTO statement a fixed place to jump to._
   - _He marked the retry point with a label near the start of the function._
14. A projecting molding running along the sides and over the tops of openings in medieval architecture.
   - Simple: A molding that sticks out along the sides and top of a door or window in old buildings.
   - _A weathered label arches over each window of the cathedral's west front._
   - _Restorers traced the original label along the doorway's sides and top._
15. A heraldic charge shaped like a strap crossing a horse's chest, with short pendants hanging from it.
   - Simple: A mark on a coat of arms shaped like a band with short hanging tags.
   - _The prince's arms carry a white label of three points across the chief._
   - _Heralds draw the label spanning the upper part of the shield._
16. A brass rule fitted with sights, once used together with a circumferentor to measure altitudes.
   - Simple: A brass ruler with sights, used long ago with a surveying tool to measure heights.
   - _The surveyor swung the label until both sights framed the church spire._
   - _With the label clamped to the circumferentor, she read off the altitude._

## Verb

3. To attach a small ticket or sign to something in order to mark or identify it.
   - Simple: To attach a small tag or sign to something so people know what it is.
   - _Workers label every crate with its destination before loading the truck._
   - _The museum labeled each artifact with its date and origin._
4. To give a name to a person or thing in order to categorize them.
   - Simple: To give a person or thing a name that puts them in a category.
   - _Teachers should be careful not to label struggling students as failures._
   - _Reviewers labeled the film a masterpiece within hours of its release._
12. To replace specific atoms with their isotope so the isotope's presence or movement can be tracked through a reaction, metabolic pathway, or cell.
   - Simple: To mark certain atoms with a special form called an isotope, so scientists can track where they go.
   - _By labeling the glucose with carbon-14, the team could trace its path through the metabolic cycle._
   - _Biochemists label individual amino acids to follow how cells assemble new proteins._
13. To attach a detectable substance to a biological material so that the combination can be tracked, whether inside a living system or in the lab.
   - Simple: To attach a substance that can be spotted to something living so its location can be tracked.
   - _Technicians label the antibodies with a fluorescent tag before imaging._
   - _By labeling the virus with a marker, scientists can watch it enter the cell._

## Noun

17. A tassel; a hanging tuft of cords or threads used as a decoration. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A bunch of threads tied together at one end and used to decorate something.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English label, meaning a narrow band or strip of cloth, borrowed from Old French label or lambel. That in turn came from Frankish *lappā, a torn piece of cloth, from Proto-Germanic and ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "blade," related to Old High German lappa and Old English læppa.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/label (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).