Glossary Entries

Glossary entries contain multiple translations of a single term and corresponding information. On this page, we'll dive into the different glossary entry endpoints you can use to manage glossary entries programmatically. We'll look at how to create, update, and delete glossary entries.

The glossary entry model

The glossary entry model acts as a container for the terms and definitions for a single entry in a glossary. It also contains a reference to the glossary it belongs to as well as the terms that make up the entry and information about when the entry was created and last updated. Think of an entry as a row in a spreadsheet with multiple columns containing the translated terms.

Properties

Name
id
Type
integer
Description
Unique identifier for the glossary entry.
Name
glossary_id
Type
integer
Description
The ID of the glossary the entry belongs to.
Name
notes
Type
string
Description
An optional note for the glossary entry.
Name
terms
Type
array
Description
The terms that make up the glossary entry. See the glossary term model for details.
Name
created_at
Type
timestamp
Description
Timestamp of when the glossary entry was created.
Name
updated_at
Type
timestamp
Description
Timestamp of when the glossary entry was last updated.

The glossary term model

A glossary term represents a single translation or variant within a glossary entry. Each entry can have multiple terms in different languages.

Properties

Name
id
Type
integer
Description
Unique identifier for the glossary term.
Name
entry_id
Type
integer
Description
The ID of the glossary entry the term belongs to.
Name
term
Type
string
Description
The term text.
Name
lang
Type
string
Description
The language code for the term (e.g., 'en', 'de', 'fr').
Name
description
Type
string
Description
An optional description or definition of the term.
Name
term_type
Type
string
Description
The type of term. Possible values: preferred (the recommended term to use) or forbidden (a term that should not be used).
Name
alternative_term
Type
string
Description
An optional alternative form of the term.

GET/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries

List all glossary entries

This endpoint allows you to retrieve a paginated list of all the entries in a glossary. By default, a maximum of 50 entries are shown per page.

Optional query parameters

Name
limit
Type
integer
Description
Maximum number of entries to return. Default: 50.
Name
offset
Type
integer
Description
Number of entries to skip for pagination. Default: 0.
Name
include_terms
Type
boolean
Description
Whether to include the terms for each entry in the response. Default: false.

Request

GET

/v1/glossaries/1/entries

curl -G https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}" \
  -d include_terms=true

Response

{
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "glossary_id": 1,
      "notes": "Technical term",
      "created_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
      "updated_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
      "terms": [
        {
          "id": 1,
          "entry_id": 1,
          "term": "API",
          "lang": "en",
          "description": "Application Programming Interface",
          "term_type": "preferred",
          "alternative_term": null
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "total": 1,
  "limit": 50,
  "offset": 0
}

POST/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries

Create a glossary entry

This endpoint allows you to add a new empty entry to a glossary. You might want to use the Create glossary entry with terms endpoint instead to add a glossary entry with terms in a single request.

Optional attributes

Name
notes
Type
string
Description
A note for the glossary entry.

Request

POST

/v1/glossaries/1/entries

curl https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"notes": "Technical term"}'

Response

{
  "id": 1,
  "glossary_id": 1,
  "notes": "Technical term",
  "created_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "terms": []
}

POST/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/with-terms

Create a glossary entry with terms

This endpoint allows you to add a new entry to a glossary with terms in a single request.

Optional attributes

Name
notes
Type
string
Description
A note for the glossary entry.

Required attributes

Name
terms
Type
array
Description
An array of term objects to create. Each term requires term, lang, and term_type.

Term object attributes

Name
term
Type
string
Description
The term text.
Name
lang
Type
string
Description
The language code for the term.
Name
term_type
Type
string
Description
The type of term: preferred or forbidden.
Name
description
Type
string
Description
An optional description of the term.
Name
alternative_term
Type
string
Description
An optional alternative form of the term.

Request

POST

/v1/glossaries/1/entries/with-terms

curl https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries/with-terms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "notes": "Technical term",
    "terms": [
      {
        "term": "API",
        "lang": "en",
        "description": "Application Programming Interface",
        "term_type": "preferred"
      },
      {
        "term": "Schnittstelle",
        "lang": "de",
        "description": "Programmierschnittstelle",
        "term_type": "preferred"
      }
    ]
  }'

Response

{
  "id": 1,
  "glossary_id": 1,
  "notes": "Technical term",
  "created_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "terms": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "entry_id": 1,
      "term": "API",
      "lang": "en",
      "description": "Application Programming Interface",
      "term_type": "preferred",
      "alternative_term": null
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "entry_id": 1,
      "term": "Schnittstelle",
      "lang": "de",
      "description": "Programmierschnittstelle",
      "term_type": "preferred",
      "alternative_term": null
    }
  ]
}

GET/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/:entry_id

Retrieve a glossary entry

This endpoint allows you to retrieve a glossary entry by providing its id.

Optional query parameters

Name
include_terms
Type
boolean
Description
Whether to include the terms for the entry in the response. Default: false.

Request

GET

/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1

curl https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}" \
  -G -d include_terms=true

Response

{
  "id": 1,
  "glossary_id": 1,
  "notes": "Technical term",
  "created_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "terms": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "entry_id": 1,
      "term": "API",
      "lang": "en",
      "description": "Application Programming Interface",
      "term_type": "preferred",
      "alternative_term": null
    }
  ]
}

PUT/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/:entry_id

Update a glossary entry

This endpoint allows you to update a glossary entry. You can update the notes and/or the terms.

When updating terms, the lang field is used as the unique identifier within an entry:

If a term with the given lang exists, it will be updated
If no term with that lang exists, a new term will be created

Optional attributes

Name
notes
Type
string
Description
Updated notes for the glossary entry.
Name
terms
Type
array
Description
Array of term objects to update or create. Each term requires term, lang, and term_type.

Request

PUT

/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1

curl -X PUT https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "notes": "Updated technical term",
    "terms": [
      {
        "term": "API",
        "lang": "en",
        "description": "Application Programming Interface",
        "term_type": "preferred"
      }
    ]
  }'

Response

{
  "id": 1,
  "glossary_id": 1,
  "notes": "Updated technical term",
  "created_at": "2025-12-11T15:06:14.512Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-12-11T16:30:00.000Z",
  "terms": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "entry_id": 1,
      "term": "API",
      "lang": "en",
      "description": "Application Programming Interface",
      "term_type": "preferred",
      "alternative_term": null
    }
  ]
}

DELETE/v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/:entry_id

Delete a glossary entry

This endpoint allows you to delete a glossary entry. This will also delete all terms associated with the entry.

Request

DELETE

/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1

curl -X DELETE https://api.elanlanguages.ai/v1/glossaries/1/entries/1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Org-Id: {orgId}"