glossary

[ glos-uh-ree, glaw-suh- ]

noun

, plural glos·sa·ries.

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.

glossary

/ ɡlɒˈsɛərɪəl; ˈɡlɒsərɪ /

noun

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

Derived Forms

• glossarial, adjective
• ˈglossarist, noun
• glosˈsarially, adverb

Other Words From

• glos·sar·i·al [glo-, sair, -ee-, uh, l, glaw-], adjective
• glos·sari·al·ly adverb
• glossa·rist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of glossary¹

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; gloss ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of glossary¹

C14: from Late Latin glossārium; see gloss ²

Example Sentences

The document included a glossary of terms to be used to address the LGBTQ and intersex community, and it came from the Madras High Court.

From Washington Blade

Bustle parent company BDG’s Inclusivity Guide, created by the company’s Inclusion Council, goes over how to promote diversity “while not being tokenizing,” and also includes a glossary of terms to avoid, according to a spokesperson.

From Digiday

The page includes a pandemic glossary, a vaccine explainer and a guide to identifying misinformation.

From Science News

If you’re new to the chat and wondering about acronyms, here’s a glossary of frequently-used chat terms.

From Washington Post

A glossary of what all those strange phrases in classic Christmas songs really mean.

From The Daily Beast

The nine-page glossary in the back of the book is helpful, but only up to a point.

From The Daily Beast

The downside is that you may read in a perpetual state of glossary-checking and Goodreads-searching.

From The Daily Beast

The essential glossary here: “Molly” is a slang word for MDMA, a drug often used for date rape; “that” is the date raping.

From The Daily Beast

Plus, read an account of an escape from Scientology's Sea Org and a Scientology glossary.

From The Daily Beast

He prepared a glossary of provincial and archological words, intended for a supplement to Johnson's Dictionary.

From Project Gutenberg

It has a complete glossary of terms, and is illustrated with two hundred original drawings.

From Project Gutenberg

Except for yogh, h-stroke and paired , unusual letters appear only in the editorial material (introduction, notes and glossary).

From Project Gutenberg

The preceding examples give most of the more important weak verbs; others can be found in the Glossary.

From Project Gutenberg

Also, of the pronoun me; as in d m'endyte, G 32; see M' in the Glossary, p. 157.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dictionary
• vocabulary