Template:Defn
Usage
The template {{defn}} is used in template-structured glossaries to create definitions of terms.
It is a wrapper for <dd>...</dd>, the description list definition HTML element. The template has a mnemonic redirect at {{dd}}.
Basic usage:
{{glossary}} {{term|1=term}} {{defn|1=Definition.}} {{glossary end}}
Links, inline templates, reference citations, wikimarkup styles, etc., can be applied to the definition. Technically, the |1= part is optional if the content of the definition does not contain the "=" character, but as any editors can add content, including templates with this character in them, it is always safest to explicitly name the parameter. The |1= parameter can also be called |defn= for those who don't care for numeric parameters.
- This will work: {{defn|1=The concept that the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content, expressed by the formula E=MC²}}
- This will work: {{defn|defn=The concept that the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content, expressed by the formula E=MC²}}
- This will fail: {{defn|The concept that the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content, expressed by the formula E=MC²}}
More complex usage might be:
{{defn|1=Definition. |no=# |term=term_id}}
where |no=# gives a leading number for a definition in a list of definitions, and |term=term_id provides the name of the term used in the {{Term}} template to which this definition pertains.
Images, hatnotes and other content
Images, hatnotes and other "add-in" content intended to immediately follow the {{term}} must be used at the top of (inside) the first {{defn}} of the {{term}}. They cannot be placed between the {{term}} and {{defn}} or it will break the glossary markup. Images can, of course, be placed elsewhere within the {{defn}}, and bottom-notes like {{more}} can be placed at the ends of but inside the content of {{defn}}s.
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
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Multiple definitions for one term
If a single {{term}} has multiple definitions, they are simply numbered with the |2=parameter explicitly. Think of the parameter as standing for "2nd or later definition". You can also call it |no=, if you prefer (from "No.") Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
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Because of the uneven length of definitions, it is usually more convenient to put the |2= before the |1= description:
{{defn |2=1 |1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.}}
or
{{defn |no=1 |1=Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.}}
This is a very robust method, because it permits complex content like block quotations, nested lists, cross-reference hatnotes, and other block-level markup inside each definition. The definitions can also be independently linked.
Use of a "standard" hatnote with a numbered definition would require manual numbering or it would look weird. But this method is deprecated anyway. An example of forcing it to kinda work:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{ghat}} template, for glossary hatnotes, and put it inside the first (or most applicable) definition. This obviates creating a pseudo-definition to hold the hatnote, as shown above. {{Ghat}} (which uses Module:Hatnote inline) has some CSS adjustments to work better than {{Hatnote}} and its derivatives, when used inside a definition.
Making the definition independently linkable
Most of the restrictions on the content of
idhave been removed, soidvalues no longer have to begin with an[a-z][A-Z]alphabetic character, avoid most punctuation marks, or suffer other such limitations. Wikipedia's MediaWiki engine is smart enough to auto-escape any problematic characters, on the fly.
{{term}} (or it must be the |id=foo value, if any, used in {{term}}). This must be unique on the page for each term, but should be the same for multiple definitions of the same term). This is done with the {{defn}}'s |term= parameter. This will produce a #-link target ID in the form term-defn#, where the # is the number of the definition (see #Multiple definitions for one term, above), defaulting to "1". Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
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| HTML output:
<syntaxhighlight lang="html">
</syntaxhighlight> |
Note that some characters in snorkelweasel (noun)" have been converted on the fly by MediaWikia by the time it sends the ID to the browser as snorkelweasel_.28noun.29-defn1. You can still link to it on this page as #snorkelweasel (noun)-defn1 (view page source and see for yourself – that link has href=#snorkelweasel_.28noun.29-defn1).
The IDs blubbermonster-defn1, blubbermonster-defn2, and snorkelweasel_(noun)-defn1 are all individually linkable, e.g. as [[Glossary of weird terms#blubbermonster-defn1]]. This is especially useful for cross-references within the glossary, e.g. See also [[#blubbermonster-defn2|"blubbermonster", sense 2]].
To add more than one linkable anchor, use the {{anchor}} template at the beginning of the definition's content:
{{defn|no=2|1={{anchor|elit|Elit}}Consectetur adipisicing elit.|term=blubbermonster}}
Languages
There is no |lang= parameter, as on English Wikipedia all definitions are necessarily in English. For uses of glossary markup for non-glossary purposes in which some content may be in a foreign language, use language templates. E.g. in a list of film title translations formatted using glossary markup:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
- Titles of La Vie en Rose in various languages
- French: La Vie en Rose
- English: Life in Pink ...
</syntaxhighlight>
Examples
This shows both a very simple then a rather complex instance:
| Markup | <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
== A–M ==
<dl class="glossary " >
<dt id="applesnorkel" ><dfn>applesnorkel</dfn></dt>
<dd >Definition of term 1.</dd>
<dt id="arglefarst" ><dfn>[arglefarst] <span style="color:#d33">Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: xx ([[:Category:Lang and lang-xx template errors|help]])</span>[[Category:Lang and lang-xx template errors]]<span class="anchor" id="argle-farst"></span><span class="anchor" id="argle farst"></span></dfn></dt>
<dd >1. Beginning of first definition of term 2
<blockquote class="templatequote " >Block quotation in first definition of term 2.</blockquote>
Conclusion of first definition of term 2.</dd>
<dd >2. Second definition of term 2.</dd>
</dl></syntaxhighlight>
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| Renders as | A–M
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Applying CSS styles to the definition
The |style= parameter will pass CSS styling on to the <dd> element, e.g. |style=font-family:serif; or whatever. I.e., this styles the definition itself, not the term it applies to, other definitions, or the glossary as a whole. This feature is rarely if ever needed in articles, but can be useful elsewhere for things like matching custom user page style.
Other parameters
The |id= parameter can be used to assign a one-word, case-sensitive ID name to definition. It must be unique on the page. This can be used as a #link target, and could have other metadata uses. See the #Making the definition independently linkable section for how to normally make a definition linkable. Probably the only reason to use this feature is if there are two terms with the same name on the page, which would result in conflicting IDs.
The |class= parameter will pass one or more space-separated CSS classes on to <dd> element. There is rarely any reason to do this.
Note: With the use of TemplateStyles in the enclosing {{glossary}} (which generates the HTML <dl class="glossary"> tag), this template no longer includes the glossary class by default.
See also
{{glossary}}a.k.a.{{glossary start}}or{{glossary begin}}– Half of a template pair; uses<dl>with a class to open the structured glossary definition list that{{glossary end}}closes.{{glossary end}}– The other half of this template pair; uses</dl>to close the definition list that{{glossary}}opens.{{term}}– The glossary term to which the{{defn}}definition applies; a customized<dt>with a class and an embedded<dfn>.{{defn}}– The definition that applies to the{{term}}; uses<dd>with a class{{ghat}}– a hatnote template properly formatted for the top of a{{defn}}definition{{glossary link}}– meta-template for creating shortcut templates for linking to definitions in specific glossaries- Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries
- Not to be confused with {{dfn}}