termiset

Termiset is a term used in information science to denote a curated collection of terms associated with a particular domain or topic. A termiset functions as a controlled vocabulary intended to standardize terminology, support indexing and search, and facilitate semantic analysis. The concept is closely related to, but distinct from, glossaries and taxonomies: a termiset emphasizes the organized collection of terms and their linguistic or semantic properties, while glossaries define terms and meanings, and taxonomies describe hierarchical relationships.

Termsets can be monolingual or multilingual and may include metadata such as definitions, part of speech, usage notes, synonyms, antonyms, and semantic relations (such as broader/narrower or related terms). They are produced by domain experts and knowledge engineers and are maintained to reflect changes in a field, terminological drift, or new concepts. Termsets may be implemented as standalone lists, database entries, or as part of larger knowledge organization systems like thesauri, ontologies, or controlled vocabularies.

Applications include information retrieval, library cataloging, data annotation, natural language processing, and knowledge graphs. In practice, a termiset helps disambiguate terms, improve search precision, and enable consistent tagging across documents and datasets. Challenges include keeping the set comprehensive yet manageable, handling polysemy and synonymy, and aligning with external standards.

See also: controlled vocabulary, thesaurus, ontology, taxonomy, glossary, metadata.