A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin Documentum, which denotes a "teaching" or "lesson": the verb doceō denotes "to teach". In the past, the word was usually used to denote written proof useful as evidence of a truth or fact. In the Computer Age, "document" usually denotes a primarily textual computer file, including its structure and format, e.g. fonts, colors, and images. Contemporarily, "document" is not defined by its transmission medium, e.g., paper, given the existence of electronic documents. "Documentation" is distinct because it has more denotations than "document". Documents are also distinguished from "realia", which are three-dimensional objects that would otherwise satisfy the definition of "document" because they memorialize or represent thought; documents are considered more as two-dimensional representations. While documents can have large varieties of customization, all documents can be shared freely and have the right to do so, creativity can be represented by documents, also. History, events, examples, opinions, etc. all can be expressed in documents.

दस्तावेज़ या प्रलेख या डॉक्यूमेंट (document) ऐसी वस्तु को कहते हैं जिसमें काग़ज़, कम्प्यूटर फ़ाइल या किसी अन्य माध्यम पर किसी मानव या मानवों द्वारा बनाए गए चिह्नों, शब्दों, विचारों, चित्रों या अन्य अर्थपूर्ण जानकारी को दर्ज किया गया हो। कानूनी व्यवस्था में किसी समझौते, सम्पति-अधिकार, घोषणा या अन्य महत्वपूर्ण बात का प्रमाण देने के लिए दस्तावेज़ों का विशेष प्रयोग होता है।