glossary

American  

[glos-uh-ree, glaw-suh-] / ˈglɒs ə ri, ˈglɔ sə- /

noun

plural

glossaries

1. a list of terms in a special subject, field, or area of usage, with accompanying definitions.

2. such a list at the back of a book, explaining or defining difficult or unusual words and expressions used in the text.

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glossary British  

/ ɡlɒˈsɛərɪəl, ˈɡlɒsərɪ /

noun

1. Sometimes called: gloss.  an alphabetical list of terms peculiar to a field of knowledge with definitions or explanations

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Other Word Forms

• glossarial
  adjective
• glossarially
  adverb
• glossarist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of glossary

1350–1400; Middle English glossarye < Latin glōssarium difficult word requiring explanation < Greek glōssárion, diminutive of glôssa tongue, language; later taken as a collection of such words, by construing suffix as Latin -ārium -ary; cf. gloss ²

Explanation

A glossary is a dictionary of terms specific to a certain subject. A biology textbook might have a glossary in the back, so you can quickly look up all those technical words. Many fields of study use terms that are pretty much restricted to that field of study, so authors often supply a glossary to help people understand what they're talking about. The glossary is often found at the end of a book or article and is usually in alphabetical order. A glossary can also come at the end of a chapter or even in footnotes. If you're just joining the world of Dungeons and Dragons, I recommend you look over the glossary, so you can get a sense of what your fellow gamers are talking about.

Example Sentences

The Glossary of Meteorology defines “drought” as “a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2023

Find a trusted resource, like the Freddie Mac Glossary of Terms, and study up.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2022

The first recorded mention of Beltane was in the 10th century CE text "Cormac's Glossary," known in Gaelic as "Sanas Cormaic."

From Salon • May 2, 2022

And this led D'Arcy into what became a lifelong project—the first output of which was his 1894 book Glossary of Greek Birds:

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2017

With an Essay on his Language and Versification, and an Introductory Discourse; together with Notes and a Glossary.

From Household Education by Martineau, Harriet

Related Words

• dictionary
• vocabulary