definition
A statement or formal explanation of the meaning of a concept.
in scheme
A concept may be a member of more than one concept scheme.
A concept scheme in which the concept is included.
has related match
skos:relatedMatch is used to state an associative mapping link between two conceptual resources in different concept schemes.
An alternative lexical label for a resource.
Acronyms, abbreviations, spelling variants, and irregular plural/singular forms may be included among the alternative labels for a concept. Mis-spelled terms are normally included as hidden labels (see skos:hiddenLabel).
skos:prefLabel, skos:altLabel and skos:hiddenLabel are pairwise disjoint properties.
alternative label
The range of skos:altLabel is the class of RDF plain literals.
note
This property may be used directly, or as a super-property for more specific note types.
A general note, for any purpose.
hidden label
The range of skos:hiddenLabel is the class of RDF plain literals.
A lexical label for a resource that should be hidden when generating visual displays of the resource, but should still be accessible to free text search operations.
Recommended best practice is to identify the resource by means of a string conforming to a formal identification system.
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.
Identifier
A second property with the same name as this property has been declared in the dcterms: namespace (http://purl.org/dc/terms/). See the Introduction to the document "DCMI Metadata Terms" (http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/) for an explanation.
change note
A note about a modification to a concept.
SKOS XL Vocabulary
Participants in W3C's Semantic Web Deployment Working Group.
An RDF vocabulary extending SKOS and allowing the description and linking of lexical entities.
Concept Scheme
A concept scheme may be defined to include concepts from different sources.
Thesauri, classification schemes, subject heading lists, taxonomies, 'folksonomies', and other types of controlled vocabulary are all examples of concept schemes. Concept schemes are also embedded in glossaries and terminologies.
A set of concepts, optionally including statements about semantic relationships between those concepts.
skos:narrowerTransitive is a transitive superproperty of skos:broader. By convention, skos:narrowerTransitive is not intended to be used in assertions, but provides a mechanism whereby the transitive closure of skos:narrower can be queried.
narrower transitive
By convention, skos:narrowerTransitive is not used to make assertions. Rather, the properties can be used to draw inferences about the transitive closure of the hierarchical relation, which is useful e.g. when implementing a simple query expansion algorithm in a search application.
For any resource, every item in the list given as the value of the skos:memberList property is also a value of the skos:member property.
An RDF list containing the members of an ordered collection.
member list
has related
Relates a concept to a concept with which there is an associative semantic relationship.
skos:related is disjoint with skos:broaderTransitive
Collection
Labelled collections can be used with collectable semantic relation properties e.g. skos:narrower, where you would like a set of concepts to be displayed under a 'node label' in the hierarchy.
A meaningful collection of concepts.
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the DCMI Type Vocabulary [DCMITYPE]. To describe the file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource, use the Format element.
The nature or genre of the resource.
Type
Typically, the subject will be represented using keywords, key phrases, or classification codes. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary.
The topic of the resource.
Subject
exact match
skos:exactMatch is used to link two concepts, indicating a high degree of confidence that the concepts can be used interchangeably across a wide range of information retrieval applications. skos:exactMatch is a transitive property, and is a sub-property of skos:closeMatch.
skos:exactMatch is disjoint with each of the properties skos:broadMatch and skos:relatedMatch.
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as RFC 4646 [RFC4646].
Language
A language of the resource.
skos:closeMatch is used to link two concepts that are sufficiently similar that they can be used interchangeably in some information retrieval applications. In order to avoid the possibility of "compound errors" when combining mappings across more than two concept schemes, skos:closeMatch is not declared to be a transitive property.
related to
A concept with which there is an associative semantic relationship.
Examples of dimensions include size and duration. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the list of Internet Media Types [MIME].
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource.
Format
history note
A note about the past state/use/meaning of a concept.
Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1
literal form
The property skosxl:literalForm is used to give the literal form of an skosxl:Label.
If two instances of the class skosxl:Label have the same literal form, they are not necessarily the same resource.
The range of skosxl:literalForm is the class of RDF plain literals.
has narrower
Relates a concept to a concept that is more specific in meaning.
By convention, skos:broader is only used to assert an immediate (i.e. direct) hierarchical link between two conceptual resources.
Narrower concepts are typically rendered as children in a concept hierarchy (tree).
Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, a table of contents, a graphical representation, or a free-text account of the resource.
An account of the resource.
Description
has broader
Relates a concept to a concept that is more general in meaning.
Broader concepts are typically rendered as parents in a concept hierarchy (tree).
semantic relation
This property should not be used directly, but as a super-property for all properties denoting a relationship of meaning between concepts.
A concept related by meaning.
Examples of a Publisher include a person, an organization, or a service. Typically, the name of a Publisher should be used to indicate the entity.
An entity responsible for making the resource available.
Publisher
has broader transitive
skos:broaderTransitive is a transitive superproperty of skos:broader.
By convention, skos:broaderTransitive is not used to make assertions. Rather, the properties can be used to draw inferences about the transitive closure of the hierarchical relation, which is useful e.g. when implementing a simple query expansion algorithm in a search application.
preferred label
The property skosxl:prefLabel is used to associate an skosxl:Label with a skos:Concept. The property is analogous to skos:prefLabel.
If C skosxl:prefLabel L and L skosxl:literalForm V, then X skos:prefLabel V.
Concept
An idea or notion; a unit of thought.
The described resource may be derived from the related resource in whole or in part. Recommended best practice is to identify the related resource by means of a string conforming to a formal identification system.
A related resource from which the described resource is derived.
Source
notation
By convention, skos:notation is used with a typed literal in the object position of the triple.
A notation, also known as classification code, is a string of characters such as "T58.5" or "303.4833" used to uniquely identify a concept within the scope of a given concept scheme.
Examples of a Creator include a person, an organization, or a service. Typically, the name of a Creator should be used to indicate the entity.
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource.
Creator
mapping relation
These concept mapping relations mirror semantic relations, and the data model defined below is similar (with the exception of skos:exactMatch) to the data model defined for semantic relations. A distinct vocabulary is provided for concept mapping relations, to provide a convenient way to differentiate links within a concept scheme from links between concept schemes. However, this pattern of usage is not a formal requirement of the SKOS data model, and relies on informal definitions of best practice.
Definition
has broader match
skos:broadMatch is used to state a hierarchical mapping link between two conceptual resources in different concept schemes.
Ordered Collection
An ordered collection of concepts, where both the grouping and the ordering are meaningful.
Ordered collections can be used where you would like a set of concepts to be displayed in a specific order, and optionally under a 'node label'.
The property skosxl:altLabel is used to associate an skosxl:Label with a skos:Concept. The property is analogous to skos:altLabel.
If C skosxl:altLabel L and L skosxl:literalForm V, then X skos:altLabel V.
SKOS Vocabulary
An RDF vocabulary for describing the basic structure and content of concept schemes such as thesauri, classification schemes, subject heading lists, taxonomies, 'folksonomies', other types of controlled vocabulary, and also concept schemes embedded in glossaries and terminologies.
scope note
A note that helps to clarify the meaning of a concept.
skos:narrowMatch is used to state a hierarchical mapping link between two conceptual resources in different concept schemes.
narrower match
is in scheme
Relates a resource (for example a concept) to a concept scheme in which it is included.
has narrower transitive
skos:narrowerTransitive is a transitive superproperty of skos:narrower.
label relation
The property skosxl:labelRelation is used for representing binary ('direct') relations between instances of the class skosxl:Label.
skosxl:labelRelation is not intended to be used directly, but rather as the basis for a design pattern which can be refined for more specific labeling scenarios.
The preferred lexical label for a resource, in a given language.
A resource has no more than one value of skos:prefLabel per language tag, and no more than one value of skos:prefLabel without language tag.
The range of skos:prefLabel is the class of RDF plain literals.
Recommended best practice is to identify the related resource by means of a string conforming to a formal identification system.
A related resource.
Relation
has narrower match
example
An example of the use of a concept.
Label
A special class of lexical entities.
SKOS Core Vocabulary
An abstract idea or notion; a unit of thought.
A concept that is more general in meaning.
Date may be used to express temporal information at any level of granularity. Recommended best practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as the W3CDTF profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF].
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource.
Date
has top concept
Relates, by convention, a concept scheme to a concept which is topmost in the broader/narrower concept hierarchies for that scheme, providing an entry point to these hierarchies.
The property skosxl:hiddenLabel is used to associate an skosxl:Label with a skos:Concept. The property is analogous to skos:hiddenLabel.
If C skosxl:hiddenLabel L and L skosxl:literalForm V, then C skos:hiddenLabel V.
broader match
is in mapping relation with
Relates two concepts coming, by convention, from different schemes, and that have comparable meanings
has member list
Relates an ordered collection to the RDF list containing its members.
is in semantic relation with
Links a concept to a concept related by meaning.
Labelled collections can be used where you would like a set of concepts to be displayed under a 'node label' in the hierarchy.
broader transitive
is top concept in scheme
Relates a concept to the concept scheme that it is a top level concept of.
has exact match
A top level concept in the concept scheme.
A concept that is more specific in meaning.
editorial note
A note for an editor, translator or maintainer of the vocabulary.
No two concepts in the same concept scheme may have the same value for skos:prefLabel in a given language.
Examples of a Contributor include a person, an organization, or a service. Typically, the name of a Contributor should be used to indicate the entity.
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource.
Contributor
Spatial topic and spatial applicability may be a named place or a location specified by its geographic coordinates. Temporal topic may be a named period, date, or date range. A jurisdiction may be a named administrative entity or a geographic place to which the resource applies. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Thesaurus of Geographic Names [TGN]. Where appropriate, named places or time periods can be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date ranges.
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant.
Coverage
has close match
Ordered collections can be used with collectable semantic relation properties, where you would like a set of concepts to be displayed in a specific order, and optionally under a 'node label'.
related match
has member
Relates a collection to one of its members.
Typically, rights information includes a statement about various property rights associated with the resource, including intellectual property rights.
Information about rights held in and over the resource.
Rights
top concept in scheme
member
A member of a collection.
A name given to the resource.
Title
A note that helps to clarify the meaning and/or the use of a concept.