The template {{term}} is used in template-structured glossaries to create terms to be defined, that are properly structured, have semantic value, and can be linked to as if independent sections. It is a wrapper for ‎<dt>...‎</dt>, the description list term HTML element. The template has a mnemonic redirect at {{dt}}.

Basic usage:

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=term}}
{{defn|1=Definition.}}
{{glossend}}

Inline templates, reference citations, wikimarkup styles, etc., can be applied to the term in the second parameter (|content= or |2=) as long as it remains without markup in the first parameter (|term= or |1=. Technically, the explicit parameter names are optional if the term or content does not contain the "=" character, but as any editors can add material, including templates or URLs with this character in them, it is always safest to explicitly name the parameters.

  • This will work: {{term|1=E=MC²}}
  • This will fail: {{term|E=MC²}}

More complex usage is typically:

{{term|term=term with no markup |content=term with markup}}

or

{{term|1=term with no markup |2=term with markup}}

or

{{term|1=term with no markup |content=term with markup}}

Wiki-styling and linking the term

If the second or |content= parameter is styled with wikimarkup, linked, or otherwise altered inside the template, the term must also be retained in unstyled form as the first or |term= parameter. Failing to do so will cause the template to malfunction, since it must have a "clean" term name to use as the id of the element, for linking purposes, among other reasons. The order intentionally mirrors that of wikilinking ([[title|styled]]).

  • Correct: {{term|1=esprit de corps|''esprit de corps''}}
  • Wrong: {{term|1=''esprit de corps''}}

Style cannot be applied around the template, either, as it is a container for content (the term), not content itself (and doing so will produce invalid markup that will have unpredictable results depending upon browser):

  • Wrong: ''{{term|1=esprit de corps}}''

For the same reasons that links to other pages are discouraged in headings, links are also discouraged in glossary terms:

  • Deprecated: {{term|1=esprit de corps|''[[esprit de corps]]''}}
  • Preferred: {{term|1=esprit de corps|''esprit de corps''}} , and use of {{main}} in the {{defn}} definition to link to the article esprit de corps.

Again, as with the first parameter (the term) itself, if the "=" character (equals sign) is used in this second parameter, the syntax requires that the parameter be explicitly specified (and because many URLs, e.g. in reference citations, can contain this character, it is always safest to name the parameter):

numbered:

{{term|1=E=MC²|2=E=MC<sup>2</sup>}}

or named:

{{term|term=E=MC²|content=E=MC<sup>2</sup>}}

The template {{anchors}} can also be used in the |content= / |2= parameter, e.g. to provide the plural of the term (the most common usage), an alternative spelling, the old name of an entry that was linked to but has since changed, or a shortcut link anchor name:

{{term|1=shortstop |content=shortstop{{anchors|shortstops|short-stop|short stop|sslink}}}}

As with styled terms, the second parameter must be used to provide the "bare" term. It is not necessary to add the term itself to the {{anchors}} template when using {{term}}. By contrast, when using semicolon-delimited terms in unstructured glossaries, the term does need to be added as an anchor explicitly if link anchorage is desired (which is almost always the case):

;shortstop{{anchors|shortstop|shortstops|short-stop|short stop|sslink}}

(Strictly speaking, this fact has nothing to do with this template, but may be of use to editors who are converting from one glossary style to the other.)

Multiple terms sharing a definition

Two or more {{terms}} can be used for synonyms with a shared definition, though keep in mind that people looking for one and not finding it where they expect it to be alphabetized are liable to assume it is missing if you do not create a cross-reference entry. The parameter |multi=y is used on second and subsequent terms to visually group the terms close together so it is clear that they share a definition:

Example:

{{term|1=asprin}}
{{defn|1=A mild analgesic of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) family...}}
{{term|1=heroin}}
{{term|1=diacetylmorphine|multi=y}}
{{term|1=diamorpine|multi=y}}
{{defn|1=A synthetic narcotic drug of the opiate family...}}
{{term|1=ranitidine}}
{{defn|1=An antacid of the proton pump inhibitor family...}}

Result: '{{{1}}}'

asprin
A mild analgesic of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) family...
heroin
diacetylmorphine
diamorpine
A synthetic narcotic drug of the opiate family...
ranitidine
An antacide of the proton pump inhibitor family...

Languages

To indicate the language of a non-English term, use the {{lang}} template and the ISO 639 language codes as documented at that template:

{{term|1=esprit de corps |content=''{{lang|fr|esprit de corps}}''}}

This shows no visual change for most languages:

esprit de corps

For all non-English languages this provides many metadata features, but it is essential for those that do not use the Latin alphabet, so that the content displays properly in various browsers. If it is useful to indicate the name of the language, there are individual templates for most languages, with names based on the ISO codes, and which automatically italicize the foreign content: {{term|1=esprit de corp |content={{lang-fr|esprit de corps}}s}} which renders as:

French: esprit de corps


When two or more language variants of a term share the same definition
:

One definition can actually have two or more terms above it as variations or alternatives with the same definition. The most common use case for this is presenting the term in two variants of English. Example: {{term|1=tyre|content={{lang-en-GB|tyre}}}} {{term|1=tyre|content={{lang-en-US|tire}}}} {{defn|1=A resilient wheel covering usually made of vulcanized rubber.}} Result: '{{{1}}}'

British English: tyre
American English: tire
A resilient wheel covering usually made of vulcanized rubber.

The template has no |lang= parameter (and shouldn't – there are too many pitfalls).

Applying CSS styles to the term

The |style= parameter will pass CSS styling on to the <dt> element.

Examples

This shows both a very simple and a rather complex instance:

==A–M==

{{gloss}}

{{term|1=applesnorkel}}
{{defn|1=Definition of term 1.}}

{{term|arglefarst}}
{{defn|no=1 |1=
1. Beginning of first definition of term 2
{{bq|1=Block quotation in first definition of term 2.}}
Conclusion of first definition of term 2.
}}

{{defn|no=2 |1=Second definition of term 2.}}

{{glossend}}

A–M

'{{{1}}}'

applesnorkel
Definition of term 1.
[arglefarst] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: xx (help)
1.  Beginning of first definition of term 2

Block quotation in first definition of term 2.

Conclusion of first definition of term 2.
2.  Second definition of term 2.

Images, hatnotes and other content

Images, hatnotes and other "add-in" content intended to immediately follow the {{term}} must be used at the top of (inside) the first {{defn}} of the {{term}}. They cannot be placed between the {{term}} and {{defn}} or it will break the glossary markup. Images can, of course, be placed elsewhere within the {{defn}}, and bottom-notes like {{More}} can be placed at the ends of but inside {{defn}}s.

{{gloss}}
{{term|1= colour ball |content=colour ball {{anchor|coloured ball|coloured balls|colour|colours|color ball}} }}
{{defn|no=1| 1=
[[File:Set of Snookerballs.png|thumb|right|150px|A complete set of snooker balls, with six '''colour balls'''.]]
{{ghat|Also '''coloured ball(s)''', '''colour(s)'''; American spelling '''color''' sometimes also used.}}
In [[snooker]], any of the {{cuegloss|object ball|object balls}} that are not {{cuegloss|red ball|reds}}.
}}
{{defn|no=2 |1=
In [[Blackball (pool)|blackball]], a generic, collective term for the red and yellow {{cuegloss|group|groups}} of object balls.
}}
{{glossend}}

'{{{1}}}'

colour ball
1.  
A complete set of snooker balls, with six colour balls.
Also coloured ball(s), colour(s); American spelling color sometimes also used.
In snooker, any of the object balls that are not reds.
2.  In blackball, a generic, collective term for the red and yellow group of object balls.

Technical details

What this template does on the technical level is wrap the term in the ‎<dfn>...‎</dfn> HTML element to semantically mark the term as the defining instance on the page of the defined term, and puts this marked-up content inside a ‎<dt>...‎</dt> description list (a.k.a. definition list, association list) term element, with CSS class="glossary". That class isn't doing anything yet, but it could later, like the light font size increase.

Use this template to apply the correct styling to a gloss, given as the first (and often only) parameter.

Typical usage:

     Foreign term {{gloss|English term}}

E.g.:

     {{langx|es|casa}} {{gloss|house}}

yields:

     Spanish: casa 'house'

With parentheses (round brackets):

See below for when to use this option.

     Technical or ambiguous term {{gloss|mode=def|contextual plain-English meaning}}

E.g.:

     billiards {{gloss|mode=def|cue sports on a pocketless table}}

yields:

     billiards (cue sports on a pocketless table)

Most translations and definitions are worded as glosses. That is, the words in the definition or translation function with the same part of speech and semantics as the defined or translated material. For example, a contextual gloss of the word cats (a noun) might be the noun phrase members of the family Felidae (to distinguish it from the narrow meaning domestic cats), and a translating gloss of the Spanish verb vivir is a verb phrase in English, to live. Some terms are difficult or impossible to define with a gloss. For example, one of the definitions of the word of in English that a dictionary could give might be Connects a noun derived from a verb with the object of that verb. That definition is not a gloss, because the words in the definition cannot be used as a substitute for of.

Wikipedia is not a dictionary, and thus we do not usually specially format glosses (or non-gloss explanations) of terms or concepts in any particular way, but present this content as best fits the context:

  • The flower is available in many specific cultivars.
  • The flower is available in many specific cultivated varieties (cultivars).
  • The flower is available in many specific cultivars (cultivated varieties).
  • The flower is available in many specific cultivated varieties or cultivars.
  • The flower is available in many specific cultivars (short for cultivated varieties).
  • The flower is available in many specific cultivated varieties, technically termed cultivars.
  • And so on.

There are some exceptions, where a consistent approach can be helpful:

  1. In the presentation of translations of non-English content into English, it is useful to both readers and editors to consistently distinguish meaning, as in Lao: khwaay 'water buffalo', from other annotations, as in Lao: khwaay noun, or Lao: khwaay (kwai in Thai). Standard linguistic practice (and WP practice – see ) is to place English translation glosses of foreign terms in 'single quotation marks', non-italicized, non-bracketed, and without intervening punctuation (e.g. comma); and to italicize the non-English original (see ). This is the default behavior of this template: [[Lao language|Lao]]: {{lang|lo-Latn|khwaay}} {{gloss|water buffalo}} produces: Lao: khwaay 'water buffalo' – without need of any further parameters.
  2. When glossing a literal but ambiguous English translation (itself a different kind of gloss), to make the meaning clearer: Vietnamese: trâu 'water buffalo' (domestic water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis), since "water buffalo" by itself could be misinterpreted as inclusive of the wild species. This additional kind of gloss is most often put in parentheses (round brackets), and is not italicized in most contexts. (They are italicized or otherwise distinguished in some dictionaries, for distinction from the definition as such.) The typical non-italicized use is the second of this template's basic functions: ... playing billiards {{gloss|mode=def|cue sports on a pocketless table}} ... produces: ... playing billiards (cue sports on a pocketless table) .... If this use of the template becomes common, it will be possible for user stylesheets to hide them for more concise presentation (e.g. on mobile devices) or perhaps a Wikipedia:Gadget to toggle display/hide mode on the fly.
  3. When quickly explaining jargon, slang, or other possibly unfamiliar wording, and without need for elaboration, the use of parentheses is the most common and concise approach, and usually the least likely to lead to a comprehension difficulty: cultivars (cultivated varieties), or cats (felids) vs. cats (domesticated felines). Note that the or format can easily imply an alternative term instead of a gloss, and is frequently confused for this reason: cats or felids. The use of double quotation marks can easily be misinterpreted as skepticism or sarcasm, whichever direction they are applied: cultivar ("cultivated variety") and cultivated variety ("cultivar"). The use of italics for words as words can similarly lead to difficulty, such as applying the wrong style to a taxonomic group that is never italicized, as in cats (Felidae), or being misinterpreted as emphasis or as a terme non-anglais. This is another case for use of {{gloss|mode=def|...}}.

Interlinear glosses

ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿ

Other templates have been provided for interlinear glossing:

  • Use {{interlinear}} for glossed text
  • Use {{gcl}} for individual glossing abbreviations

However, {{gloss}} can technically be used (possibly awkwardly) to provide glosses (the bottom line) of an interlinear gloss.

It is not presently suited for a gloss spread out over several table columns, because it generates 'single quotes' on each use. A parameter could be added to suppress this, but may never be needed since we have {{interlinear}}.

Regardless what template you use, please note that excessively complex interlinear glosses (such as might be found in a linguistics journal paper) are usually not appropriate in an encyclopedia. As the Leipzig Glossing Rules states: "Depending on the author's purposes and the readers' assumed background knowledge, different degrees of detail will be chosen."[] Our readers have zero assumed background knowledge other than enough English-language competence to get the gist of articles on the English Wikipedia. Many of our readers are elementary school children, and learners of English as a second language (ESL). Even a native speaker with a masters degree may have no knowledge of linguistics jargon.

In most contexts, it is thus not necessary, and may be confusing, to provide a great deal of metalanguage morpheme-by-morpheme correspondence information, between the original text and the free English gloss (much less to mix such information into the gloss).

When such information is provided, e.g. in an article on detailed linguistic matters, link at least the first occurrence of standardized linguistics abbreviations (given in SMALLCAPS) to the corresponding article about that feature of language, as in: stay-FUT-NEG. Use the {{gcl}} template, as it was created to do this without having to resort to a bunch of manual markup.

Interlinear glosses of any complexity are best arranged in a bare table, to preserve vertical alignment between elements.

References and further reading

ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿ
  1. Department of Linguistics (February 2008). "Leipzig Glossing Rules: Conventions for interlinear morpheme-by-morpheme glosses". Revised Version. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 9 September 2015.




Usage

The template {{defn}} is used in template-structured glossaries to create definitions of terms. It is a wrapper for ‎<dd>...‎</dd>, the description list definition HTML element. The template has a mnemonic redirect at {{dd}}.

Basic usage:

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=term}}
{{defn|1=Definition.}}
{{glossend}}

Links, inline templates, reference citations, wikimarkup styles, etc., can be applied to the definition. Technically, the | part is optional if the content of the definition does not contain the "=" character, but as any editors can add content, including templates with this character in them, it is always safest to explicitly name the parameter. The |1= parameter can also be called |defn= for those who don't care for numeric parameters.

  • This will work: {{definition|1=The concept that the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content, expressed by the formula E=MC²}}
  • This will fail: {{definition|The concept that the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content, expressed by the formula E=MC²}}

More complex usage is typically:

{{defn|1=Definition. |2=# |term=term_id}}

Images, hatnotes and other content

Images, hatnotes and other "add-in" content intended to immediately follow the {{term}} must be used at the top of (inside) the first {{defn}} of the {{term}}. They cannot be placed between the {{term}} and {{defn}} or it will break the glossary markup. Images can, of course, be placed elsewhere within the {{defn}}, and bottom-notes like {{More}} can be placed at the ends of but inside {{defn}}s.

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=colour ball |content= colour ball {{anchor|coloured ball|coloured balls|colour|colours|color ball}}}}
{{defn|1=
[[File:Set of Snookerballs.png|thumb|right|150px|A complete set of snooker balls, with six '''colour balls'''.]]
{{ghat|1=Also '''coloured ball(s)''', '''colour(s)'''; American spelling '''color''' sometimes also used.}}
In [[snooker]], any of the {{cuegloss|object ball}}s that are not {{cuegloss|red ball|reds}}.
}}
{{glossend}}

'{{{1}}}'

colour ball
A complete set of snooker balls, with six colour balls.
Also coloured ball(s), colour(s); American spelling color sometimes also used.
In snooker, any of the object balls that are not reds.
Multiple definitions for one term

If a single {{term}} has multiple definitions, they are simply numbered with the |2=parameter explicitly. Think of the parameter as standing for "2}nd or later definition". You can also call it |no=, for "No.", if you prefer: Example:

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=blubbermonster}}
{{defn|1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. |2=1}}
{{defn|1=Consectetur adipisicing elit. |2=2}}
{{glossend}}

'{{{1}}}'

blubbermonster
1.  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
2.  Consectetur adipisicing elit.

Because of the uneven length of definitions, it is usually more convenient to put the |2= before the |1= description:

{{defn |2=1 |1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.}}

or

{{defn |no=1 |1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.}}

This is a very robust method, because it permits complex content like block quotations, nested lists, {{main}} cross-reference hatnotes, and other block-level markup inside each definition. The definitions can also be independently linked.

Use of a hatnote with a numbered definition requires manual numbering or it will look weird:

{{term|1=blackjack|content=blackjack{{anchor|Blackjack}} }}
{{defn|1={{main|Blackjack}}
1.&nbsp;&nbsp;A card game in which players attempt to approach 21 but not exceed it.
}}

{{defn|no=2|1=The best possible hand in the game of blackjack, made up of an ace and a card valued at 10 (namely, 10, J, Q, K). }}

Making the definition independently linkable

To enable a link directly to a specific definition, you can manually add an {{anchor}} template, or name the definition with its {{term}} or an abbreviation thereof (must be unique on the page for each term, but should be the same for multiple definitions of the same term). This is done with the |term= parameter; it must begin with an alphabetic character (a–z, A–Z), and may include digits (0–9), hyphens ("-"), and underscores ("_"). This will produce a #-link target ID in the form term-defn#, where the # is the number of the definition (see above), defaulting to "1". Example:

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=blubbermonster}}
{{defn|no=1 |1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. |term=blubbermonster}}
{{defn|no=2 |1=Consectetur adipisicing elit. |term=blubbermonster}}
{{term|1=snorkelweasel (noun)}}
{{defn|1=Ut enim ad minim veniam |term=snorkelweasel_noun}}
{{glossend}}

'{{{1}}}'

blubbermonster
1.  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
2.  Consectetur adipisicing elit.
snorkelweasel (noun)
Ut enim ad minim veniam

 HTML output:

<dl class="glossary">
<dt class="glossary" id="blubbermonster" style="font-size: 110%; margin-top: 0.5em;"><dfn>blubbermonster</dfn></dt>
<dd class="glossary" id="blubbermonster-defn1">1.  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</dd>
<dd class="glossary" id="blubbermonster-defn2">2.  Consectetur adipisicing elit.</dd>
<dt class="glossary" id="snorkelweasel_.28noun.29" style="font-size: 110%; margin-top: 0.5em;"><dfn>snorkelweasel (noun)</dfn></dt>
<dd class="glossary" id="snorkelweasel_noun-defn1">Ut enim ad minim veniam</dd>
</dl>

The IDs blubbermonster-defn1, blubbermonster-defn2, and snorkelweasel_noun-defn1 are all individually linkable, e.g. as [[Glossary of weird terms#blubbermonster-defn1]]. This is especially useful for cross-references within the glossary, e.g. See also [[#blubbermonster-defn2|"blubbermonster", sense 2]].

Languages

There is no |lang= parameter, as on English Wikipedia all definitions are necessarily in English. For uses of glossary markup for non-glossary purposes in which some content may be in a foreign language, use language templates. E.g. in a list of film title translations formatted using glossary markup:

{{gloss}}
{{term|1=Titles of La Vie en Rose in various languages |content=Titles of ''[[La Vie en Rose]]'' in various languages}}
{{defn|1=French: ''{{lang|fr|La Vie en Rose}}''}}
{{defn|1=English: ''Life in Pink''}}
...
{{glossend}}
Examples

This shows both a very simple and a rather complex instance:

==A–M==

{{gloss}}

{{term|1=applesnorkel}}
{{defn|1=Definition of term 1.}}

{{term|1=arglefarst |content=''{{lang|xx|arglefarst}}''{{anchors|argle-farst|argle farst}}}}
{{defn|no=1 |1=
Beginning of first definition of term 2
{{bq|1=Block quotation in first definition of term 2.}}
Conclusion of first definition of term 2.
}}

{{defn|no=2 |1=Second definition of term 2.}}

{{glossend}}

A–M

'{{{1}}}'

applesnorkel
Definition of term 1.
[arglefarst] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: xx (help)
1.  Beginning of first definition of term 2

Block quotation in first definition of term 2.

Conclusion of first definition of term 2.
2.  Second definition of term 2.
Applying CSS styles to the definition

Applying CSS styles to the definition The |style= parameter will pass CSS styling on to the <dd> element, e.g. |style=font-family:serif; or whatever. This feature is rarely if ever needed in articles, but can be useful for things like matching custom user page style.


See also

  • {{Gloss}} – Half of a template pair; uses ‎<dl> with a class to open the structured glossary definition list that {{Glossend}} closes.
  • {{Glossend}} – The other half of this template pair; uses ‎</dl> to close the definition list that {{Gloss}} opens.
  • {{Term}} – The glossary term to which the {{defn}} definition applies; a customized ‎<dt> with a class and an embedded ‎<dfn>.
  • {{Defn}} – The definition that applies to the {{term}}; uses ‎<dd> with a class
  • {{Ghat}} – a hatnote template for just above the main content of the first definition
  • Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries