![]() Structurally it is a tool consisting of a controlled set of terms linked by hierarchical or associative relations, which mark any needed equivalence relations (synonyms) with terms from natural language and concentrate on a particular area of knowledge (Guinchat and Menou, 1983). Functionally a thesaurus is a terminological control device used in translating the natural language into the systems language. Thesaurus can also be defined functionally and structurally. ![]() He defines thesaurus as ‘an IR thesaurus is chiefly a terminological control device for transformation of natural language (NL) expressions, used by authors, referees, publishers, indexers and users who form the various links in the information transfer chain into a more constrained system of vocabulary’ (Roy, 1981). Ajoy Kumar Roy provides a definition, giving a list of those whose natural language expressions are controlled. The British Standards 5723 defines a thesaurus as, ‘a means of displaying the terms in a controlled indexing language, together with indications of their apparent relationships’ (British, 1979). This definition emphasizes a priori relationships, which are document independent. The Unesco has defined the thesaurus as, ‘a vocabulary of controlled indexing language formally organized so that the a priori relationships between concepts (e.g., ‘broader’ and `narrower’) are made explicit’ (Unesco, 1981a). The Webster’s dictionary has defined it as, ‘a useful literary collection or selection especially a book of synonyms and antonyms.’ (Webster, 1987). ![]() ![]() Derivationally the word thesaurus originated from the Greek language and symbolized the concept of treasury or storehouse of knowledge. ![]()
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