Entitysuch

Entitysuch is a term used in speculative ontology and knowledge representation to denote a referent defined by descriptive constraints rather than by a fixed identity. The word combines "entity" with the demonstrative "such," signaling that the target of reference is a class-bound instance determined by a description rather than by a unique label. In practice, entitysuch figures arise in discussions of how descriptions map to objects within a domain.

In formal settings, an entitysuch expression describes the set of all entities that satisfy a given description or property bundle. In description logics, it corresponds to a class expression formed by a conjunction of predicates; in knowledge graphs it aligns with a structural pattern that can be matched by multiple concrete nodes. The concept helps separate referential identity from descriptive extension and accommodates references that are inherently descriptive rather than individuating.

Examples help illustrate the idea. The phrase "the entity such that hasColor blue and isLocatedIn Europe" designates all blue objects in Europe, unless additional constraints narrow the set to a single instance. In linguistics and semantics, entitysuch can be used to model determiner phrases and scope in constructions like "an entity such that ..." and is discussed in relation to definite descriptions and existential quantification.

Origin and related terms: entitysuch is a neologism that appears in theoretical discussions of language, ontology, and query modeling. It is related to such-that constructions, definite descriptions, and class expressions used in description logics and ontology engineering to express description-driven reference. See also: definite description, such-that, description logic, knowledge graph, ontology.