KWIC is an acronym for Key Word In Context, the most common format for concordance lines. The term KWIC was first coined by Hans Peter Luhn. The system was based on a concept called keyword in titles which was first proposed for Manchester libraries in 1864 by Andrea Crestadoro.
A KWIC index is formed by sorting and aligning the words within an article title to allow each word (except the stop words) in titles to be searchable alphabetically in the index. It was a useful indexing method for technical manuals before computerized full text search became common.
For example, the title statement of this article and the Wikipedia slogan would appear as follows in a KWIC index. A KWIC index usually uses a wide layout to allow the display of maximum 'in context' information (not shown in the following example).
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| ... Key Word In Context, the most | common format for concordance lines. | page 1 |
| ... the most common format for | concordance lines. | page 1 |
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| Wikipedia, The Free | Encyclopedia | page 0 |
| ... In Context, the most common | format for concordance lines. | page 1 |
| Wikipedia, The | Free Encyclopedia | page 0 |
| KWIC is an acronym for | Key Word In Context, the most ... | page 1 |
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| ... common format for concordance | lines. | page 1 |
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| Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia | page 0 | |
| KWIC is an acronym for Key | Word In Context, the most common ... | page 1 |
The term permuted index is another name for a KWIC index, referring to the fact that it indexes all cyclic permutations of the headings. Books composed of many short sections with their own descriptive headings, most notably collections of manual pages, often ended with a permuted index section, allowing the reader to easily find a section by any word from its heading. This practice is no longer common.
Read more about Key Word In Context: References in Literature
Famous quotes containing the words key word in, key, word and/or context:
“The key word in my plays is “perhaps.””
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“This is not a book. This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty ... what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“O, I am smitten with a hatchet’s jaw;
And that in deed and not in word alone.
chorus: I thought I heard a sound within the house
Unlike the voice of one that jumps for joy.
He splits my skull, not in a friendly way,
Once more: he purposes to kill me dead”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“The hard truth is that what may be acceptable in elite culture may not be acceptable in mass culture, that tastes which pose only innocent ethical issues as the property of a minority become corrupting when they become more established. Taste is context, and the context has changed.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)