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

integer

Unique identifier for the glossary entry.

integer

The ID of the glossary the entry belongs to.

string

An optional note for the glossary entry.

array

The terms that make up the glossary entry. See the glossary term model for details.

timestamp

Timestamp of when the glossary entry was created.

timestamp

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

integer

Unique identifier for the glossary term.

integer

The ID of the glossary entry the term belongs to.

string

The term text.

string

The language code for the term (e.g., ‘en’, ‘de’, ‘fr’).

string

An optional description or definition of the term.

string

The type of term. Possible values: preferred (the recommended term to use) or forbidden (a term that should not be used).

string

An optional alternative form of the term.

List all glossary entries

GET /v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/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

integer

Maximum number of entries to return. Default: 50.

integer

Number of entries to skip for pagination. Default: 0.

boolean

Whether to include the terms for each entry in the response. Default: true.

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
}

Create a glossary entry

POST /v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries 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

string

A note for the glossary entry.

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": []
}

Create a glossary entry with terms

POST /v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/with-terms This endpoint allows you to add a new entry to a glossary with terms in a single request.

Optional attributes

string

A note for the glossary entry.

Required attributes

array

required

An array of term objects to create. Each term requires term, lang, and term_type.

Term object attributes

string

required

The term text.

string

required

The language code for the term.

string

required

The type of term: preferred or forbidden.

string

An optional description of the term.

string

An optional alternative form of the term.

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
    }
  ]
}

Retrieve a glossary entry

GET /v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/:entry_id This endpoint allows you to retrieve a glossary entry by providing its id.

Optional query parameters

boolean

Whether to include the terms for the entry in the response. Default: true.

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
    }
  ]
}

Update a glossary entry

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

string

Updated notes for the glossary entry.

array

Array of term objects to update or create. Each term requires term, lang, and term_type.

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 a glossary entry

DELETE /v1/glossaries/:glossary_id/entries/:entry_id This endpoint allows you to delete a glossary entry. This will also delete all terms associated with the entry.

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

Guides

Jobs & Translation

Resources

Webhooks

Account

The glossary entry model

Properties

The glossary term model

Properties

List all glossary entries

Optional query parameters

Create a glossary entry

Optional attributes

Create a glossary entry with terms

Optional attributes

Required attributes

Term object attributes

Retrieve a glossary entry

Optional query parameters

Update a glossary entry

Optional attributes

Delete a glossary entry

​The glossary entry model

​Properties

​The glossary term model

​Properties

​List all glossary entries

​Optional query parameters

​Create a glossary entry

​Optional attributes

​Create a glossary entry with terms

​Optional attributes

​Required attributes

​Term object attributes

​Retrieve a glossary entry

​Optional query parameters

​Update a glossary entry

​Optional attributes

​Delete a glossary entry

The glossary entry model

Properties

The glossary term model

Properties

List all glossary entries

Optional query parameters

Create a glossary entry

Optional attributes

Create a glossary entry with terms

Optional attributes

Required attributes

Term object attributes

Retrieve a glossary entry

Optional query parameters

Update a glossary entry

Optional attributes

Delete a glossary entry