Each ConceptSource carries a type attribute of type ConceptSourceType, which distinguishes between two kinds of source:

authoritative

The source is the definitive origin of the content. This is the primary reference that the entry is based on.

lineage

The source documents the historical derivation or provenance of the content, but is not itself the authoritative reference.

For example, a term may originate from ISO 19101 (authoritative) but also reference an earlier ITU definition from which the ISO definition was derived (lineage).

The status attribute of type ConceptSourceStatus describes the relationship between the entry content and the cited source:

identical

The content is identical to what appears in the source.

modified

The content has been modified from the source.

restyled

The content has been restyled (e.g. formatting changes) from the source.

context-added

Additional context has been added to the source content.

generalisation

The content is a generalisation of the source content.

specialisation

The content is a specialisation of the source content.

unspecified

The relationship to the source is unspecified.

The optional modification attribute on ConceptSource can provide a description of any change made relative to the cited source.

Sources can be attached at multiple levels of the model, allowing different parts of a terminological entry to have their own authoritative sources:

ManagedConcept.sources

Sources at the managed concept level, applicable to the concept as a whole rather than to any specific localisation.

Concept.sources

Sources at the localised concept level, applicable to a specific language version of the concept. This allows different language versions to cite different authoritative sources. For example, English terms sourced from one standard and French terms from another.

Designation.sources

Sources for individual terms (designations), when a particular term originates from a different source than the overall concept.

DetailedDefinition.sources

Sources for individual definitions, notes, or examples, allowing each to reference its own authoritative source independently of the enclosing concept’s sources.

NonVerbRep.sources

Sources for non-verbal representations (images, tables, formulas).

This hierarchy means that a concept may have multiple authoritative sources. A concept’s definition may come from one standard while a specific term for that concept comes from another, with each part independently referencing its own authoritative source. Multiple sources may also define the concept identically, in which case each is listed as an authoritative source with identical status.

In some cases, the glossary itself is the authoritative source. For example, when a term and its definition originate within the glossary rather than being adopted from an external standard. In this case, the origin attribute of the ConceptSource references the glossary’s own bibliographic citation.

The TC 204 Geolexica site is an example of this: the entire glossary represents ISO 14812 terminology, so the authoritative source for every entry is the glossary itself.