Vakterm

Vakterm is a term used to describe a vocabulary item that belongs to a specific field or occupation. In many Nordic and Dutch-speaking contexts, vakterm denotes the specialized lexicon used by professionals within a given domain, distinct from general-language vocabulary. The term is not tied to a single fixed definition across languages; its scope can vary by country, field, or institution.

Derivationally, vakterm combines vak from Dutch/Germanic roots meaning field, occupation, or subject, with term. In practice, vakterm is used in vocational education, glossaries, and terminology projects to label terms that require domain-specific knowledge.

In education, vakterm lists appear in curricula and vocational dictionaries, signaling terms students must learn to achieve competency. In terminology management, vakterm entries are part of controlled vocabularies with definitions, usage notes, synonyms, abbreviations, and cross-references.

Vakterm often has narrow meaning; may have multiple senses limited to a field; may be preferred over more general translations in bilingual contexts. Documentation includes examples, context notes, and field references.

Because vakterm encodes precise technical meaning, accurate translation and interpretation are critical in cross-disciplinary work, international standards, and technical communication. Glossaries or terminology repositories sometimes label items as vakterm to indicate their domain relevance.