fingerprint

Meanings

Noun

• The natural pattern of ridges on the tips of human fingers, unique to each individual.
• The patterns left on surfaces where uncovered fingertips have touched, especially as used to identify the person who touched the surface.
• Unique identification for public key in asymmetric cryptosystem.
• A unique combination of features that serves as an identification of something.
• A trace that gives evidence of someone's involvement.

Verb

• To take somebody's fingerprints.
• To identify something uniquely by a combination of measurements.

Related

Narrower meaning words

• thumbprint

Origin

• From finger + print.