Term Formation Principles

ISO 704:2022 §7.6 specifies eight principles for forming new terms (and appellations and proper names). Glossarist doesn’t enforce these mechanically — they’re reviewer guidance — but the data model surfaces the information reviewers need (term_type, grammar, sources, lineage) to apply them.

The eight principles

§	Principle	What it requires
§7.6.2.1	Transparency	The concept can be inferred (at least partially) from the term itself, without a definition
§7.6.2.2	Consistency	New terms follow existing term-formation patterns in the concept system
§7.6.2.3	Appropriateness	Well-established usage is respected, even if poorly formed
§7.6.2.4	Conciseness	Terms are reasonably short
§7.6.2.5	Derivability and compoundability	Term supports derivation (noun → verb → adjective) and compounding
§7.6.2.6	Linguistic correctness	Term follows the morphological, phonological, and orthographic rules of the language
§7.6.2.7	Preference for a given natural language	Source language choice is intentional and documented
§7.6.2.8	Transliteration and transcription	Cross-script forms follow ISO standards

When several designations exist for one concept, ISO 704:2022 §7.6.1 requires picking the one that satisfies the largest number of principles as the preferred designation.

Transparency (§7.6.2.1)

A term is transparent when the concept can be inferred from its linguistic elements — usually because a key (delimiting) characteristic is expressed in the term.

Transparent	Opaque
torque wrench (wrench for measuring torque)	monkey wrench (named after inventor “Moncky”)
thermal noise (noise from thermal agitation)	Johnson noise (named after J.B. Johnson)
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States	Kean-Hamilton Commission (named after chair/vice-chair)

Avoid characteristics that change quickly with technology — otherwise the term becomes misleading when the technology evolves.

Consistency (§7.6.2.2)

If existing related concepts use a particular morphological pattern, new terms should follow it. Example: if feline / canine / bovine are established, a new family name should follow the -ine suffix pattern rather than introducing -id or -ian.

Appropriateness (§7.6.2.3)

Established and widely used designations, even if poorly formed or opaque, should not be changed unless there are compelling reasons. Renaming monkey wrench to something transparent would break decades of usage for marginal benefit.

Conciseness (§7.6.2.4)

Terms should be reasonably short. Hydraulic excavator is preferred over machine for excavating earth by means of hydraulic actuators.

Derivability and compoundability (§7.6.2.5)

A term should support:

Derivation — measure → measurement → measurable → measurably
Compounding — measure + instrument → measuring instrument

If a term doesn’t derive or compound cleanly, it limits expressiveness in technical writing.

Linguistic correctness (§7.6.2.6)

Follow the morphological, phonological, and orthographic rules of the target language. Including:

Plural forms (irregular plurals like criteria vs criterias)
Gender agreement in gendered languages
Phonotactic constraints
Spelling standardization (e.g. sulfur not sulphur per IUPAC 1990)

Preference for a given natural language (§7.6.2.7)

When a concept is named in multiple languages, the source-language choice should be intentional and documented. ISO 704:2022 doesn’t mandate a single source language — but the rationale should be clear.

Transliteration and transcription (§7.6.2.8)

Cross-script forms follow ISO standards:

ISO 9 — Cyrillic to Latin
ISO 233 — Arabic to Latin
ISO 259 — Hebrew to Latin
ISO 3602 — Japanese to Latin
ISO 7098 — Chinese to Latin

How Glossarist surfaces these principles

The data model captures the inputs reviewers need:

`term_type` (ISO 12620 enumeration)

Distinguishes full_form / abbreviation / acronym / initialism / clipped_term / short_form / transliterated_form / transcribed_form / etc. — see Term Types. Reviewers use this to apply §7.6.2.5 (derivability) and §7.6.2.8 (transliteration).

terms:
  - designation: H₂SO₄
    type: formula
    normative_status: preferred
  - designation: sulfuric acid
    type: expression
    normative_status: preferred
    term_type: full_form
  - designation: oil of vitriol
    type: expression
    normative_status: deprecated
    term_type: variant

`grammar` (part_of_speech, gender, number)

Supports §7.6.2.6 (linguistic correctness):

terms:
  - designation: entité géographique
    type: expression
    grammar:
      part_of_speech: noun
      gender: feminine
      number: singular

`dates` (designation lifecycle)

Supports §7.6.2.3 (appropriateness — established usage) by tracking when a designation was accepted or deprecated:

terms:
  - designation: sulphuric acid
    normative_status: deprecated
    dates:
      - type: accepted
        date: "1800-01-01"
      - type: deprecated
        date: "1990-01-01"
        source: "IUPAC spelling standardization"

`sources` (provenance)

Supports §7.6.2.7 (language preference documentation):

terms:
  - designation: 自由落下
    type: expression
    normative_status: preferred
    sources:
      - type: authoritative
        origin: "JIS Z 8103:2019"

Validator support

Glossarist does NOT auto-enforce term-formation principles. The principles are reviewer guidance — they require human judgment about transparency, consistency, etc. What IS validated:

term_type values are in the ISO 12620 enumeration
grammar values are in the language-appropriate taxonomy
designation text is non-empty
normative_status is one of preferred / admitted / deprecated
Exactly one preferred term per language is recommended (warning if > 1)

For an authoring workflow that surfaces these principles during review, see the Validator Playground — the designation-shape rule flags missing fields and unknown types.