descriptor
     n 1: the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a
          word that can be used to describe or identify something;
          "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a
          stem and a list of inflections to be attached" [syn: {form},
           {word form}, {signifier}]
     2: a piece of stored information that is used to identify an
        item in an information storage and retrieval system
Source: WordNet® 2.0