document

noun

1. An original or official paper used as the basis, proof, or support of anything else, including any writing, book, or other instrument conveying information pertinent to such proof or support.

   “Saint Luke […] collected them from such documents and testimonies as he […] judged to be authentic.”

2. Any material substance on which the information is represented by writing.

   “If a morsel of food fell off your plate, the advice of one contemporary document was to pick it up, make the sign of the cross over it, season it well - and then eat it.”

3. A file that contains text.

   “That exception is the HTML <IMG> tag–which transcludes an image into the context of the document. The image itself is neither embedded within the document nor copied—it is transcluded.”

4. An object conveying information by whatever means, capable of being indexed alongside other similar objects.

   “This study examines video game photography as a documentary practice. […] The three themes from this study's findings – that video game photographs act as (1) vehicles for storytelling, (2) creative trophies, and (3) aesthetic tokens – reveal how personally meaningful documents emerge from this medium.”

5. (obsolete)That which is taught or authoritatively set forth; precept; instruction; dogma.

   “And particularly they should take care that the memory of the learner be not too much crowded with a tumultuous heap or overbearing multitude of documents or ideas at one time.”

6. (obsolete)An example for instruction or warning.

   “They were forthwith stoned to death, as a document to others.”

verb

1. To record in documents.

   “He documented each step of the process as he did it, which was good when the investigation occurred.”

   “The relationship between memory as lived and history as documented is always a complex dialogue — each informing, and disinforming, the other.”

   “Significantly, on documenting Thomas's subsequent outlawry and Margery's waivery, the court clerk recorded that it was not known whether they had any chattels because they were strangers.”

2. To furnish with documents or papers necessary to establish facts or give information.

   “A ship should be documented according to the directions of law.”