Definitionskatalog

Definitionskatalog (definition catalog) is a structured repository of terms and their formal definitions within a given domain. It provides a reference framework to ensure precise, consistent usage across documents, software, data schemas, and cross-disciplinary communication.

Entries typically include: term, formal definition, domain or scope, synonyms or acronyms, cross-references to related terms, sources or provenance, status and version, examples, and usage notes or constraints. The catalog may also record linguistic variants and preferred terms for different locales.

Structure and relationships: Definitionskataloge are often organized by concept or alphabetically, and may incorporate relationships such as broader and narrower terms, part-of relations, and links to related concepts. In more formal settings, they align with ontologies or controlled vocabularies and support data modeling and semantic search.

Scope and applications: they appear in domain-specific contexts such as engineering, law, medicine, informatics, and standards development, as well as in knowledge management, translation, and software localization. They support interoperability, quality control, and efficient onboarding of new staff.

Creation and governance: maintenance is typically conducted by a terminology team or standards body, with versioning, review cycles, and change management. Challenges include keeping definitions up to date, avoiding redundancy, and handling definitional boundaries as concepts evolve.

Related concepts include glossaries, controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, thesauri, dictionaries, and ontologies; a definitionskatalog is often used in conjunction with these resources to improve clarity and machine readability.