What terminologists do
- identify and extract terminology from documents for translation and background documents
- identify and evaluate information sources
- research, develop and harmonise terminology in specialised fields, drawing on databases, reference works, legislation and expert knowledge
- create, update, consolidate and validate terminology records in the IATE (Interactive Terminology for Europe) database, adding definitions, references, contexts and other relevant information
- advise colleagues on terminology matters and how to assess and use terminology sources
- raise awareness of terminology issues through training and events
- represent their language community in interinstitutional and international terminology meetings and networks
Meet our terminologists
Terminology work is more than looking up words. It's research, precision, and collaboration with experts, drafters and translators across languages. In this short video, terminologists from DG Translation share what their work involves and what they enjoy most about it.
Tools terminologists use
- IATE – the EU's multilingual terminology database
- Euramis (European Advanced Multilingual Information System) – the EU institutions' translation memory database
- reference databases and specialised online sources
- language and translation tools for researching and managing terminology
- terminology extraction tools
- AI-based tools and large language models
- EUR-Lex – the EU legislation database
- national legislation databases
- institutional document registers (European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the EU)
This page was last reviewed on 14 August 2026