Home > Appendix > DITA 1.3 specification > Language reference: All-inclusive edition > Technical content elements > Glossary elements > Glossentry elements
Use the glossary entry topic type to define glossary terms. Each glossentry topic should define a single sense of a term.
<glossentry> element defines a single sense of a glossary term. Glossary entries for different term senses can be reused independently of one another.<glossterm> element specifies the preferred term that is associated with a definition of a sense. If the same term has multiple senses, create a separate <glossentry> topic for each sense.<glossdef> element specifies the definition of one sense of a term. If a term has multiple senses, create a separate <glossentry> topic to define each sense.<glossAbbreviation> element provides an abbreviated form of the term that is contained in a <glossterm> element.<glossAcronym> element defines an acronym for the term that is defined in the <glossterm> element. <glossAlt> element contains a variant term for the preferred term. The variant should have the same meaning as the term in the <glossterm> element; the variant is simply another way to refer to the same term. There might be many ways to refer to a term; each variant is placed in its own <glossAlt> element. The <glossUsage> element can be used within <glossAlt> to indicate when use of the alternate term is appropriate.<glossAlternateFor> element indicates when a variant term has a relationship to another variant term in addition to the preferred term.<glossBody> element is used to provide details about a glossary term (such as part of speech or additional forms of the term).<glossPartOfSpeech> element identifies the part of speech for the preferred and alternate terms. Alternate terms must have the same part of speech as the preferred term, because all terms in the <glossentry> topic designate the same subject.<glossProperty> element is a specialization of the <data> element. You can use it to specify additional details about the preferred term or its subject, for example, the gender of a noun.<glossScopeNote> element contains a clarification of the subject that is designated by the <glossterm>, such as examples of included or excluded companies or products. For instance, a scope note for "Linux" might explain that the term doe not apply to UNIX products; it might give examples of Linux products that are included as well as UNIX products that are excluded. <glossShortForm> element provides a shorter alternative to the primary term that is specified in the <glossterm> element.<glossStatus> element identifies the usage status of a preferred or alternate term. If the status isn't specified, the <glossterm> provides a preferred term and an alternate term provides an allowed term.<glossSurfaceForm> element specifies an unambiguous presentation of the <glossterm> that might combine multiple forms. The surface form is suitable to introduce the term in new contexts.<glossSymbol> element identifies a standard image that is associated with the subject of the <glossterm> element.<glossSynonym> element provides a term that is a synonym of the primary value in the <glossterm> element.<glossUsage> element provides information about the correct use of a term, such as where or how it can be used.