Thesaurus?

The word "thesaurus" has a rich etymological history that dates back to the Latin "thesaurus" (meaning 'treasure') and the Classical Greek "thēsaurós" (θησαυρός), which can be translated as 'storehouse' or 'treasury'. In a literary context, this term has been used to describe specialized dictionaries. A notable example is the "Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española" by Sebastián de Covarrubias, published in 1611, which is one of the earliest attempts to compile and explain the vocabulary of the Spanish language.

In the field of library science and information sciences, a thesaurus takes on a more technical meaning. It refers to a controlled vocabulary system used for indexing and retrieving information. This type of thesaurus organizes terms hierarchically and relationally, allowing for more efficient and precise searching in databases and information systems.

Typed?

Typed is a system designed to effectively integrate the concepts of indexing, category theory, and thesauri, with the goal of optimizing the organization and retrieval of information. Indexing systems are fundamental for managing large volumes of data, as they assign key terms to documents and other resources, facilitating their search and location.

Category theory, a field of mathematics that studies abstract structures and their relationships, offers precisely this advanced structural framework. When applied to indexing, it allows for the coherent and systematic organization of terms, reflecting the relationships between them in a way that enhances the understanding and navigation of the dataset. This is achieved through objects (terms) and morphisms (relationships) that form a logical and hierarchical network.

We could assert that a thesaurus is a category, as it establishes a hierarchical order of relationships between terms. The key lesson from Typed is that it is necessary to apply typing to our data to streamline and facilitate their indexing, organization, and retrieval.