<term> Definition List: Term

Word, phrase, graphic, chemical structure, equation, or other noun that is being defined or described.
This element is typically used in conjunction with a definition in a definition list (two-part list). The term occupies the first column of the two-part list and is the subject of the definition or description, which occupies the second column.

Usage/Remarks

Vocabulary Attribute Best Practice

If the content of the <term> element is a term from a controlled vocabulary (ontology, taxonomy, term-list, vocabulary, industry glossary, or other known source), the vocabulary attributes should be used to record that source. This source can be a formal ontology or an informal field of study (such as “chemistry”). Four attributes are used in this Tag Set to identify terms from such a controlled or an uncontrolled vocabulary:
vocab
Name of the controlled or uncontrolled vocabulary, taxonomy, ontology, index, database, or similar that is the source of the term. For example, for a subject term, a value might be the IPC Codes (“ipc”) or MESH headings (“mesh”). For an uncontrolled term, the value might be an area of study such as “medical-devices” or merely the word “uncontrolled”.
vocab-identifier
Unique identifier of the vocabulary, such as (but not limited to) a URI or DOI. For example, for Dublin Core (DCC), the identifier may be “http://dublincore.org/documents/2012/06/14/dces/”.
vocab-term
The content of the element is the display version of the vocabulary or taxonomic term. The @vocab-term attribute holds the canonical version of the same term, as it appears in the vocabulary. For example, if the attribute value is “digitized-vor”, the element might contain the display text “Digitized Version of Record”.
vocab-term-identifier
Unique identifier of the term within a specific vocabulary, such as (but not limited to) an item number, a URI, DOI, etc.
Related Elements
When Used in a Definition List: A <def-list> may take a <label> that provides it with a number or other designator, followed by an optional <title> naming the entire list, followed by optional headings for terms and their definitions. The <term-head> contains the heading over the first (term) column, and the <def-head> contains the heading for the second (definition) column; neither serves as a container element for terms or definitions. Individual <term>s and their <def>s are paired in <def-item>s. Definition lists are recursive, so following all the terms and definitions, there may be one or more embedded <def-list> elements.
Attributes

Base Attributes

Models and Context
May be contained in
Description
Any combination of:
Content Model
<!ELEMENT  term         (#PCDATA %term-elements;)*                   >
Expanded Content Model
(#PCDATA | email | ext-link | uri | inline-supplementary-material |
related-article | related-object | hr | bold | fixed-case | italic | monospace | overline |
overline-start | overline-end | roman | sans-serif | sc | strike | underline | underline-start |
underline-end | ruby | alternatives | inline-graphic | inline-media | private-char | chem-struct |
inline-formula | tex-math | mml:math | abbrev | index-term | index-term-range-end | milestone-end |
milestone-start | named-content | styled-content | fn | target | xref | sub | sup | x | disp-formula
| disp-formula-group | chem-struct-wrap | array | code | graphic | media |
preformat)*
Tagged Samples
Terms and definitions
...
<glossary>
 <def-list>
  <title>ABBREVIATIONS</title>
  <term-head>Abbreviation</term-head>
  <def-head>Expansion</def-head>
  <def-item>
   <term id="G1">PAP I</term>
   <def><p>poly(A)polymerase I</p></def>
  </def-item>
  <def-item>
   <term id="G2">PNPase</term>
   <def><p>polynucleotide phosphorylase</p></def>
  </def-item>
 </def-list>
</glossary>
...
Part of an index term
... 
<p>However, the First Amendment does not bar the 
 issuance or execution of a warrant to search a 
 newsroom<index-term><term>Newspapers</term>
 <see-also><index-term><term>Speech and press</term>
 </index-term></see-also></index-term> to obtain 
 photographs of demonstrators who had injured several 
 policemen, although the Court appeared ...</p>
...