In metadata a Synonym ring or synset, is a group of data elements that are considered semantically equivalent for the purposes of information retrieval. These data elements are frequently found in different metadata registrys. Although a group of terms can be considered equilivant, metadata registries should store the synonyms at central location called the preferred data element. Metadata (Greek: meta- + Latin: data information), literally data about data, are information about another set of data. ... In metadata, the term data element is an atomic unit of data that has: an identification such as a Data element name a clear Data element definition one or more Representation terms optional enumerated values In telecommunication, the term data element has the following components: A named unit of data... In general, semantics (from the Greek semantikos, or significant meaning, derived from sema, sign) is the study of meaning, in some sense of that term. ... A Metadata Registry is a central place where metadata definitions are stored and maintained. ...

According to WordNet, a synset or synonym set is defined as a set of one or more synonyms that are interchangeable in some context without changing the truth value of the preposition in which they are embedded. WordNet is a semantic lexicon for the English language. ... Synonyms (in ancient Greek syn συν = plus and onoma όνομα = name) are different words with similar or identical meanings. ...

Example of Synonym Ring

The following are considered semantically equivalent and for a synonym ring:

 foaf:person gjxdm:Person niem:Person sumo:Human cyc:Individual 

Note that each data element has two components:

1. Namespace prefix which is a shorthand for the name of the metadata registry
2. Data Element name The name of the object in each of the distinct metadata registry

Expression of Synonym Ring

A Synonym Ring can be expressed by a series of statments in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) using the OWL is an acronym for Web Ontology Language, a markup language for publishing and sharing data using ontologies on the Internet. ...

 sameAs 

property, the classequivalence or the propertyEquivalence or instance equivalence statements.

See also

• metadata
• Vocabulary-based transformation
• Data Reference Model
• ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x
• WordNet

Metadata (Greek: meta- + Latin: data information), literally data about data, are information about another set of data. ... A Vocabulary-Based Transformation (VBT) is a transformation that is aided by the use of a semantic equivalence statements within a controlled vocabulary. ... The Data Reference Model (DRM) is one of the five reference models of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA). ... WordNet is a semantic lexicon for the English language. ...

References

• [1] Princton WordNet Home Page