descriptor
n. countable C1 Advanced US //dɪsˈkɹɪpˌtɝ// UK //dɪskɹˈɪptɐ// de·scrip·tor
n. a word or phrase that describes a specific quality or feature of something. In computing, it is often a piece of data that tells you how to handle a file or a process.
n. a word, phrase, or data structure that provides a description or classification of an entity. In technical contexts, it refers to a handle or identifier used by an operating system to manage resources like files or network sockets.
The color red is a common descriptor for this car.
The software uses a unique file descriptor to ensure that the correct data is read from the correct location on the hard drive.
Linguists often use a set of phonetic descriptors to precisely capture the subtle acoustic differences between similar vowel sounds across various dialects.