Rules for Thesaurus Terms

  • The terms can be one or more words

  • They can have a qualifier which clarifies the meaning of the term

    For example, crane (bird) and crane (machine)

  • They are either preferred or not preferred

    • Preferred terms can't be the right side of a USE relationship.

      For example, if Truck is the preferred term, the following thesaurus relationship is invalid: Lorry USE Truck

    • Non-preferred terms can't have a BT, NT, or RT relationship and can't be the left side of a UF relationship

  • Thesaurus BT relationships can't be linked to a term that already has an NT relationship

  • Thesaurus NT relationships can't be linked to a term that already has a BT relationship

  • Thesaurus BT, BTI, BTP, BTG, NT, NTI, NTP, and NTG relationships defined in the thesaurus should be independent of context (always true).