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Glossary

Business glossary and terminology management in OpenMetadata.

Overview

Glossaries define business terminology, providing a common vocabulary for data assets across the organization.

Glossary Entity

Schema: schemas/entity/data/glossary.json

A glossary is a collection of business terms.

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "name": "BusinessGlossary",
  "displayName": "Business Glossary",
  "description": "Corporate business terminology",
  "owner": {
    "type": "team",
    "name": "DataGovernance"
  },
  "terms": [],
  "reviewers": [
    {
      "type": "user",
      "name": "john.doe"
    }
  ]
}

Glossary Terms

Schema: schemas/entity/data/glossaryTerm.json

Individual business terms within a glossary.

Term Structure

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "name": "Customer",
  "fullyQualifiedName": "BusinessGlossary.Customer",
  "displayName": "Customer",
  "description": "An individual or organization that purchases our products or services",
  "glossary": {
    "id": "glossary-uuid",
    "type": "glossary",
    "name": "BusinessGlossary"
  },
  "synonyms": ["Client", "Consumer", "Buyer"],
  "relatedTerms": [
    {
      "id": "term-uuid",
      "type": "glossaryTerm",
      "name": "Account"
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "name": "Company Policy",
      "endpoint": "https://wiki.example.com/customer-definition"
    }
  ],
  "status": "Approved",
  "reviewers": []
}

Term Properties

  • Name & Description: Clear definition
  • Synonyms: Alternative names
  • Related Terms: Conceptually related terms
  • References: External documentation
  • Status: Draft, Approved, Deprecated
  • Reviewers: Who reviews this term

Term Relationships

  • Synonyms: Customer = Client
  • Related: Customer ~ Account
  • Parent/Child: Customer → Enterprise Customer, Individual Customer

Linking Terms to Assets

Associate glossary terms with data assets:

{
  "name": "customers_table",
  "glossaryTerms": [
    {
      "id": "term-uuid",
      "type": "glossaryTerm",
      "name": "Customer"
    }
  ]
}

Benefits

  • Discover assets by business meaning
  • Understand data in business context
  • Ensure consistent terminology
  • Bridge technical and business users

Glossary Workflow

1. Create Glossary

Define top-level glossaries by domain: - Business Glossary - Technical Glossary - Domain-Specific Glossaries

2. Define Terms

Add terms with: - Clear definitions - Synonyms and related terms - Examples - References

3. Review & Approve

  • Assign reviewers
  • Review process
  • Approve or request changes
  • Publish approved terms

4. Apply to Assets

  • Tag assets with terms
  • Document relationships
  • Enable discovery

5. Maintain

  • Regular reviews
  • Update definitions
  • Deprecate old terms
  • Add new terms

Hierarchical Terms

Terms can be organized hierarchically:

Customer
├── Enterprise Customer
│   ├── Fortune 500 Customer
│   └── Mid-Market Customer
└── Individual Customer
    ├── Premium Customer
    └── Standard Customer

Term Status

  • Draft: Being defined
  • Approved: Reviewed and approved
  • Deprecated: No longer used
  • Deleted: Removed (soft delete)

Best Practices

  1. Business Language: Use business terminology, not technical jargon
  2. Clear Definitions: Avoid ambiguity
  3. Consistent Structure: Use templates
  4. Review Process: Formal approval workflow
  5. Regular Updates: Keep current
  6. Stewardship: Assign term owners
  7. Usage Tracking: Monitor term usage