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Abstract

A system for indexing and retrieving graphic and sound data ('entity data') employs a thesaurus of descriptors and equivalent words (e.g., synonyms, metonyms, foreign language equivalents, and misspellings). The system can be used, for example, to index and retrieve images, sounds, and related data for social expression cards, video segments, multimedia presentations, photographs, audio data, and the like. The thesaurus is built by allowing the user to specify a number of descriptors and equivalent words ('meaning referent sets') for each entity data, incorporating these descriptors and meaning referent sets into the thesaurus, and linking the entity data to the meaning referent sets in the thesaurus by using entity identifiers. Entity data can then be retrieved by prompting the user to specify a list of descriptors, locating the descriptors and any associated meaning referent sets in the thesaurus, and retrieving entity data linked to these meaning referent sets.

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First Claim