The DIN-TERMinology Portal gives users access to the terminology database "DIN-TERM" which contains all terms defined in German Standards and which is maintained by DIN's terminology office "DIN-TERMKONZEPT". Since June 2016, DIN-TERM also contains an increasing number of Polish terms and definitions, due to a cooperation with the Polish standards body PKN. 

750,000 terms and definitions

The terms in the DIN-TERM database have been defined in German national standards, draft standards and specifications. Many have been taken from DIN Standards based on European and International Standards. All terms in the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – published as the IEC 60050 series of standards – are also included.

The terms and definitions are given in German, with English and French equivalents wherever available, and since June 2016 also in Polish, due to a cooperation with the Polish standards body PKN. At present the database contains over 750,000 terms and definitions, 310,000 of which come from currently valid documents. The database is updated regularly as new documents are published and others are withdrawn, and as terms and definitions from more and more PKN Standards are added. Terms and definitions from withdrawn documents are identified as such.

Additional Information

DIN-TERM not only contains terms and definitions, but also additional information (where this is given in the source document). Such information includes whether a term is preferred or deprecated, or where its use is limited to certain regions, e.g. an English term that is used predominantly in the US or UK. Where relevant, symbols and units associated with the term (e.g. as used in equations) are also given. If a term is used in several different subject areas, the relevant area is indicated.

Other additional information includes examples, notes, and any footnotes given in the source document. Information on the source document is also given (including document number, edition, title and responsible standards committee). Sometimes a source document has taken over a term and definition – either unchanged or with a slight modification – from another document. In such cases the "original" document is indicated.

Consistency of the standards collection
Within DIN, the DIN-TERM database is used to support standards work: While drawing up new or revised standards, staff members search the database to see if a term and its definition have already been standardized. This helps avoid duplication of work and maintains the consistency of the standards collection. DIN-TERM is also a tool for giving standards committees an overview of existing standardized terminology in their fields, and helps to disseminate standardized terminologies.