Metadata
Information about a file rather than its contents, such as its author, date, and page count.
The fuller definition
Metadata is information describing another item, such as a document's identifier, source, author field, version, or processing status.
Delivery may be possible in April.
Subject to inspection.
Delivery may be possible in April. Subject to inspection.
source_id: A01
page: 2
version: original
This fictional example keeps a condition beside the proposition it qualifies. Extraction and chunking should preserve enough context to inspect what the source actually says.
A concrete example
A passage carries a document ID and page number so a reader can return to its original source.
The distinction that matters
A file modification time is not necessarily the date the document was created or sent.
Related terms
Provenance
The record of where a piece of information came from and how it got here.
Documents & retrievalChunking
Cutting a long document into smaller pieces so they can be searched and fed to the model.
APIs & softwareDatabase
A store of data that software can search and change. It keeps the data in a set structure.
Where it is taught
How document-grounded AI answers workSource and further reading
Sentence Transformers · Semantic searchThe definition and example are written for this library. The link gives background, official documentation or legal authority as labelled. Legal scope depends on the jurisdiction and current text; product features depend on release and settings.