 | The following is a proposed Wikipedia policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Stand-alone glossary list articles, as well as in-article embedded glossaries, should be formatted in a consistent manner. The template-structured glossary format provides many benefits. |
| Manual of Style (MoS) |
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On Wikipedia, a glossary is a special kind of list. Each glossary is an alphabetically arranged list of a subject's terms, with definitions. Each term is followed by one or more explanatory (encyclopedia-style) definitions. (For example, see Glossary of architecture).
In order to explain jargon for Wikipedia's broad audience, each of its glossaries contains a working vocabulary and definitions for important concepts for a given subject area. A glossary usually includes a field's technical terms, jargon, idioms, and metaphors.
Glossaries can be stand-alone list articles or embedded lists in sections of articles. Stand-alone glossaries are typically titled "Glossary of subject terms". A glossary within an article usually starts with the heading "Glossary".