Terminological Semantics

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Terminological semantics defines meaning through terms, definitions, designations, notes, examples, sources, synonyms, deprecated terms, and usage constraints.

A terminology record expresses semantic content when it identifies a term, defines the concept designated by the term, records the source of the definition, and constrains how the term appears in architecture, models, reports, schemas, rules, policies, interfaces, and implementation artifacts.

Terminological semantics differs from ordinary word usage. Ordinary word usage changes across communities and contexts. Terminological semantics establishes governed meaning for a defined community, domain, architecture, specification, or project.

Terminological semantics also differs from ontology. An ontology captures selected semantic commitments through concepts, relationships, distinctions, and constraints. Terminological semantics governs the terms and definitions used to name and explain those concepts.

Terminological semantic content includes:

• Terms
• Definitions
• Designations
• Acronyms
• Abbreviations
• Synonyms
• Deprecated terms
• Preferred terms
• Notes
• Examples
• Sources
• Related terms
• Broader terms
• Narrower terms
• Usage constraints
• Traceability to authoritative sources

A governed architecture preserves traceability from terminological semantics to source standards, conceptual models, vocabularies, ontologies, schemas, reports, rules, policies, and implementation artifacts that use the governed terms.

meaning defined through governed terms, definitions, designations, sources, notes, examples, and usage constraints within a defined terminology context

DIDO Solutions usage, informed by terminology practice, ISO terminology principles, semantic modeling practice, and standards-development practice.

Terminological semantics does not define all semantics of a domain. Terminology establishes the governing meaning of terms and definitions. Conceptual models, ontologies, schemas, rules, reports, policies, type systems, and implementation artifacts express additional semantic content.

A term without a governed definition creates semantic risk. Different communities can use the same term with different meanings or different terms for the same meaning.

An FX Demo terminology record defines the term settlement date.

The term settlement date has terminological semantics because the terminology record establishes the meaning of the term and distinguishes it from trade date, effective date, and termination date.

A schema field named settlementDate expresses schema semantics by constraining the field structure. The field preserves terminological semantics when it traces back to the governing definition of 'settlement date'.