Termnames

Termnames are labels assigned to concepts within controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, ontologies, or data dictionaries. They function as the human-readable identifiers that accompany machine-friendly IDs, enabling users to recognize and search for concepts while software can index and compare them reliably.

Termnames are not strict synonyms of the concept itself; they may be exact labels or include alternate spellings, locale variants, or preferred terms as defined by the vocabulary's governance. They may be the preferred term or simply a label used for display, and may be accompanied by synonyms, alternate labels, or language variants.

Typically termnames must be unique within a vocabulary; they should be stable to preserve references, and naming conventions govern capitalization, punctuation, and language. Localization and multilingual considerations are common, with termnames provided in multiple languages or locales to support international use.

Termnames are used in information retrieval and user interfaces; indexing uses termnames to categorize items, and search algorithms map user queries to the closest termname. They also support navigation, filtering, and data interoperability across systems that share a common vocabulary.

Management of termnames involves governance processes, including approval workflows, versioning, deprecation of outdated termnames, and alignment with external standards or schemes such as SKOS, ISO taxonomies, or domain-specific guidelines. Good practice emphasizes clear definitions, stable naming, and documentation of relationships between termnames, synonyms, and broader concepts.

Examples: In a medical ontology, the termname "Myocardial Infarction" labels the concept; "heart attack" can be a non-preferred label or synonym. In a product taxonomy, termname "Smartphones" labels the concept; "Mobile phones" might be a lay synonym.