Label
Origin
Middle English, from Anglo-French labelle
Definitions
- 1archaic : band, fillet; specifically : one attached to a document to hold an appended seal
- 2: a heraldic charge that consists of a narrow horizontal band with usually three pendants
- 3a : a slip (as of paper or cloth) inscribed and affixed to something for identification or description
- b : written or printed matter accompanying an article to furnish identification or other information
- c : a descriptive or identifying word or phrase: as (1) : epithet (2) : a word or phrase used with a dictionary definition to provide additional information
- d : a usually radioactive isotope used in labeling
- 4: an adhesive stamp (as for postage or revenue)
- 5a (1) : a brand of commercial recordings issued under a usually trademarked name (2) : a recording so issued (3) : a company issuing such recordings
- b : the brand name of a retail store selling clothing, a clothing manufacturer, or a fashion designer
Description
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article.
Labels have many uses: product identification, name tags, advertising, warnings, and other communication. Special types of labels called digital labels (printed through a digital printing) can also have special constructions such as RFID tags, security printing, and sandwich process labels.
A range of developmental disorders that initially occur in childhood that when continuing into adulthood, may be diagnosed as antisocial personality disorder. Such labels are often adopted by popular usage such as psychopath (or sociopath) even though these do not appear in the DSM.
It is also the case that, while often being characterized in purely negative terms, some mental traits or states labeled as disorders can also involve above-average creativity, non-conformity, goal-striving, meticulousness, or empathy. In addition, the public perception of disability associated with mental disorders can change.
Since the 1980s, Paula Caplan has been concerned about the subjectivity of psychiatric diagnosis, and people being arbitrarily “slapped with a psychiatric label”. Caplan says because psychiatric diagnosis is unregulated, doctors aren’t required to spend much time interviewing patients or to seek a second opinion. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders can lead a psychiatrist to focus on narrow checklists of symptoms, with little consideration of what is actually causing the patient’s problems. So, according to Caplan, getting a psychiatric diagnosis and label often stands in the way of recovery.[1]
