Truncation

 

joker Truncation broadens your search by allowing you to retrieve all variant endings or spellings of that word.

 

A particular character, like an asterisk (*) is used to truncate the END or MIDDLE OF A WORD. This is sometimes referred to as a WILDCARD. The truncation symbol and rules will depend on the database or search engine you are using.


econom*
  • The * symbol is typically used as a right-handed truncation.

 

  • For example, econom* will find "economy", "economics", economical", etc.

 

  • * is the truncation symbol for TOPCAT, the online catalog
wom?n
  • The ? symbol is often used to replace any single character, either inside the word or the right end of the word.

 

  • ? cannot be used to begin a word.

 

  • For example, "wom?n" will find "woman" and "women."


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