Contributors:
April Hess,
Joshua Wimmer
Learn the de nition of a glossary, discover its purpose, and view the glossary of terms examples.
Examine
how the glossary of a book is di erent from a dictionary.
Updated: 02/16/2022
Table of Contents
What is a Glossary?
To understand the glossary de nition, it's
helpful to rst understand jargon. Jargon is a series of
technical terms used in a speci c profession. A heart doctor, for example,
may use speci c
jargon such as "tachycardia" and "echocardiogram." While these terms may be well-known by
doctors, patients may have di culty understanding them. Di culty understanding topical
jargon is the problem glossaries help solve. A
glossary is an alphabetical
list of technical terms
and de nitions customized to a speci c subject. Usually found at the end of a textbook or
textbook chapter, glossaries contain sets of words narrowly geared toward the book's subject
matter.
A medical textbook, then, may contain a glossary de ning the medical jargon foreign to
normal speech. The term "glossary" comes from the Greek root "glossa," meaning "tongue" or
"language."
The purpose of a
glossary is to make content-speci c words easily accessible to the reader.
Encountering many unfamiliar industry-speci c words may be overwhelming for readers. This is
why authors provide de nitions for words related to the topic within a glossary.
In an Algebra
textbook, terms like linear, variable,
coe cient, and laws of exponents may be part of a
glossary. These are key terms and integral concepts when it comes to understanding algebra. As
English Courses
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Course
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Chapter
What is a Glossary?
What is a Glossary?
Glossary
Examples
Glossary vs. Dictionary
Lesson Summary
