Glossary
The Finder is the application in Mac OS X that that keeps track of and allows the user to manage volumes (drives), directories (folders), and files (documents). The Finder is launched when the Macintosh is started, and unless it is force quit, it is always running.
Launch is the term used to describe starting up an application or process in Mac OS X.
Spotlight is a function of the Finder that allows Macintosh users to easily find folders and files on their hard drives. It searches using both the content of files and the various meta information that is created when the file or folder is first created or which is added later by the user. See How Can I Files with OS X's Spotlight? for a complete explanation of how to use Spotlight.
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