breadcrumbs - technical definition

A description of the trail you took to arrive at your current location. Breadcrumbs are common on Web sites to help you navigate the site. For example, a simple text breadcrumb such as Products->Monitors->Flat Panel shows that you arrived at this page by first clicking Products, then Monitors, and finally Flat Panel.

The term stems from the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. When their father took them into the woods to abandon them, the brother and sister dropped crumbs of bread along the way to leave a trail back home. See Vista breadcrumbs.