fingerprint

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. An impression on a surface of the curves formed by the ridges on a fingertip, especially such an impression made in ink and used as a means of identification.
2. n. A distinctive or identifying mark or characteristic: "the invisible fingerprint that's used on labels and packaging to sort out genuine products from counterfeits” ( Gene G. Marcial).
3. n. A DNA fingerprint.
4. n. A chemical fingerprint.
5. v. To take the fingerprints of.
6. v. To identify by means of a distinctive mark or characteristic.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An impression made, as with ink or some other pigment, with the tip of a finger, so that its markings are recorded. These markings are individual in character and are permanent throughout life. They are used for purposes of identification according to a system devised by Francis Galton.

Wiktionary

1. n. The unique natural pattern of ridges on the tips of the fingers.
2. n. The patterns left on surfaces where uncovered fingertips have touched.
3. n. computing Unique identification for public key in asymmetric cryptosystem.
4. v. transitive To take somebody's fingerprints.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. an impression of the pattern of ridges on the skin of the last joint of a person's finger, left on a surface after a person has touched the surface.
2. n. a fingerprint{1} made intentionally in ink on a paper form for the purpose of identification of the individual.
3. n. any distinctive pattern of characteristics or properties of an object which can serve to identify that object.
4. n. a smudge made by a (dirty) finger.
5. v. to take an impression of the fingerprints of (a person).

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a generic term for any identifying characteristic
2. v. take an impression of a person's fingerprints
3. n. a smudge made by a (dirty) finger
4. n. a print made by an impression of the ridges in the skin of a finger; often used for biometric identification in criminal investigations