{ "model": { "rank": 11953, "code": "thing-q7884789", "model_id": "vr.tr.toponym", "name": "toponym", "purpose": "Let an agent explain toponyms and their study, relay classification, etymology and standardisation from onomastic and cartographic sources, describe variant names and naming disputes neutrally, and distinguish toponyms from other proper names, from place descriptions and from geocodes.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Information and virtual systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "INF", "domain": "INF.MED", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q7884789/", "tier": 2, "score": 41, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "força", "control city", "variant name of place", "Tupi-Guarani toponyms in Brasil", "Boulanger name", "Names of Georgia", "post town", "Ainu toponym", "outskirts", "names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia", "Sirdøl", "name of Europe", "Neustadt", "hagiotoponym", "name of Iran", "cosmonym", "tên chữ", "farm name", "names of Ryukyu", "place name origins", "Place names in Antarctica", "names of the Islamic State", "names of Vietnam", "names of the Qing dynasty", "place names in Ireland", "names of China", "name of India", "name of Greece", "geonym", "macrotoponym", "names for Tallinn", "German toponymy", "chaugan", "standardized toponym", "Names of Tunisia", "placename glosses in the Samguk Sagi", "hiragana and katakana place names", "Names of Singapore", "official names of South Africa", "names of Germany" ], "aliasCount": 47, "merged": 47, "knownIn": 41, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q7884789", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7884789", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-13T06:11:31Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 3, "engine": "claude" }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q7884789", "registryId": "vr.tr.toponym", "name": "toponym", "version": "0.2.0-wave.3", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "INF.MED" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q7884789/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.toponym", "name": "toponym", "purpose": "Let an agent explain toponyms and their study, relay classification, etymology and standardisation from onomastic and cartographic sources, describe variant names and naming disputes neutrally, and distinguish toponyms from other proper names, from place descriptions and from geocodes.", "definition": "A proper name of a place, whether a settlement, natural feature, region, street or country, studied in toponymy as a branch of onomastics, including variant and historical names, exonyms and endonyms, names in indigenous languages such as Tupi-Guarani toponyms in Brazil, contested names such as those of Georgia, and functional names such as control cities on road signs; toponyms encode history, language contact and identity and are standardised by national naming authorities and the United Nations.", "what_it_is_for": "Naming places.", "affordances": [ "explain the concept and study", "relay classification and standardisation", "describe variants and disputes", "distinguish related names" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Proper name", "Historical layering", "Endonym and exonym", "Standardised" ], "appearance": "Not a visible object; names on maps and signs.", "visual_identification": [ "Proper name of a place", "Variant names, exonyms, indigenous toponyms such as Tupi-Guarani names, control cities, names of Georgia", "Personal names are anthroponyms; descriptions are not names; geocodes are identifiers" ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "UN body", "typical_range": "UNGEGN", "unit": "name", "note": "Group of Experts on Geographical Names" }, { "quantity": "gazetteer entries worldwide", "typical_range": "millions", "unit": "count", "note": "" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "settlement names", "hydronyms, oronyms and other feature names", "street names and odonyms", "exonyms, endonyms and variant names", "indigenous and colonial toponyms such as Tupi-Guarani names in Brazil", "contested and changed names such as the names of Georgia", "functional names such as control cities" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "abionym", "why": "in registry terms" }, { "relation": "is studied in", "target": "toponymy", "why": "a branch of onomastics" }, { "relation": "is standardised by", "target": "UNGEGN", "why": "and national authorities" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "anthroponym", "why": "a personal name" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "UNGEGN resolutions and national names authorities", "ISO 3166 for country names", "Romanisation standards" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Partisan use of contested names", "Confusing variant and official names", "Erasure of indigenous names" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What a toponym is.", "rationale": "Definition.", "layers": [ { "id": "definition", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-finding", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "questions": [ { "text": "What is a toponym, and how does it differ from personal names, descriptions and geocodes?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Is the question about toponyms in general, a specific name, a dispute or road signage?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "kinds", "name": "Kinds", "description": "Kinds.", "findings": [ { "id": "kinds-finding", "name": "Kinds", "description": "Kinds.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are settlement names, hydronyms, odonyms, exonyms, endonyms, variant names and control cities?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the specific kind?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "study", "name": "Study", "description": "Toponymy.", "rationale": "Sources.", "layers": [ { "id": "etymology", "name": "Etymology", "description": "Etymology and layers.", "findings": [ { "id": "etymology-finding", "name": "Etymology", "description": "Etymology.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do toponymists trace etymologies and language layers, such as Tupi-Guarani names in Brazil?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "standardisation", "name": "Standardisation", "description": "Standardisation.", "findings": [ { "id": "standardisation-finding", "name": "Standardisation", "description": "Standardisation.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do UNGEGN and national authorities standardise and romanise names?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which sources are cited?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "disputes", "name": "Disputes", "description": "Disputes and change.", "rationale": "Attribution.", "layers": [ { "id": "contested", "name": "Contested", "description": "Contested names.", "findings": [ { "id": "contested-finding", "name": "Contested", "description": "Contested.", "questions": [ { "text": "Why are names such as those of Georgia and other places contested, with positions attributed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the presentation neutral?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "renaming", "name": "Renaming", "description": "Renaming.", "findings": [ { "id": "renaming-finding", "name": "Renaming", "description": "Renaming.", "questions": [ { "text": "How and why are places renamed, including restoration of indigenous names?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits geographical renaming?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "context", "name": "Context", "description": "Data and culture.", "rationale": "Context.", "layers": [ { "id": "data", "name": "Data", "description": "Gazetteers.", "findings": [ { "id": "data-finding", "name": "Data", "description": "Data.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are toponyms recorded in gazetteers and databases such as GeoNames?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits gazetteer?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "culture", "name": "Culture", "description": "Culture.", "findings": [ { "id": "culture-finding", "name": "Culture", "description": "Culture.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do toponyms carry identity, memory and folklore?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits cultural geography?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should exonym and control city be separate primary entries?", "How should onomastic sources be linked?", "The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific cases and a road sign term; should they be split off?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "work, medium or creative form", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a toponym, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Let an agent explain toponyms and their study, relay classification, etymology and standardisation from onomastic and cartographic sources, describe variant names and naming disputes neutrally, and distinguish toponyms from other proper names, from place descriptions and from geocodes.", "characteristics": { "substance": "information", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "read and interpreted", "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: força, control city, variant name of place, Tupi-Guarani toponyms in Brasil, Boulanger name, Names of Georgia, post town, Ainu toponym, outskirts, names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia, Sirdøl, name of Europe.", "47 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 41 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a toponym, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "content that has to be carried by something else", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "read it and act on what it says", "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "What is seen is a copy or a performance, not the work. Recognising the work means recognising the content through whatever is carrying it." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "força", "control city", "variant name of place", "Tupi-Guarani toponyms in Brasil", "Boulanger name", "Names of Georgia", "post town", "Ainu toponym", "outskirts", "names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia", "Sirdøl", "name of Europe" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 41 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 47 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one toponym from another, and a toponym from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a toponym sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a toponym from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a toponym passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a toponym between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a toponym, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a toponym is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "content-and-access", "name": "Content, encoding and access", "description": "What a toponym says, how it is encoded and who may read it.", "rationale": "An informational thing carries content that can be copied, versioned and withheld, none of which its physical carrier explains.", "layers": [ { "id": "content-and-encoding", "name": "Content and encoding", "description": "The content itself, its format and its language.", "findings": [ { "id": "content-and-format", "name": "Content, format and language", "description": "What a toponym contains and in what form it is held.", "questions": [ { "id": "content-and-format-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the content of a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the content of a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the content of a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "access-and-rights", "name": "Access, rights and retention", "description": "Who may read, copy or change it, and for how long it is kept.", "findings": [ { "id": "access-rules", "name": "Access rules and retention", "description": "The permissions attached to a toponym and the period it survives.", "questions": [ { "id": "access-rules-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes access to a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about access to a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once access to a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "work-and-manifestation", "name": "Work, version and copy", "description": "Which level of toponym a statement is about.", "rationale": "The work, the edition, the file and the copy in hand are four things; rights and content attach to different ones.", "layers": [ { "id": "levels", "name": "Levels of the thing", "description": "Work, expression, manifestation and item, in plain terms.", "findings": [ { "id": "level-rules", "name": "What belongs at each level", "description": "Which facts hold for the work and which only for one copy.", "questions": [ { "id": "level-rules-q01", "text": "For toponym, which facts belong to the work itself, which to a version, and which to a single copy?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "level-rules-q02", "text": "What identifier exists at each level, and which one is being cited?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "versions", "name": "Versions, editions and variants", "description": "How versions differ and which is canonical to whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "version-record", "name": "Versions and canonicity", "description": "Differences that matter and who calls one authoritative.", "questions": [ { "id": "version-record-q01", "text": "Which versions or editions of toponym exist, and how do they differ substantively?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "version-record-q02", "text": "Who treats which version as authoritative, and for what purpose?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "authorship-and-rights", "name": "Authorship, rights and permitted use", "description": "Who made toponym and what may be done with it.", "rationale": "Rights are jurisdictional, time-limited and attached to a level, and an agent that ignores that will copy what it may not.", "layers": [ { "id": "authorship", "name": "Authorship and contribution", "description": "Who contributed what, and in what capacity.", "findings": [ { "id": "contribution-record", "name": "Contributors and roles", "description": "The people and bodies behind it, with their roles.", "questions": [ { "id": "contribution-record-q01", "text": "Who authored or contributed to toponym, in what roles, and how is that attested?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "contribution-record-q02", "text": "Where authorship is disputed or anonymous, what is recorded instead?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "rights", "name": "Rights and permissions", "description": "Which rights subsist, where, until when, and what they permit.", "findings": [ { "id": "rights-record", "name": "Rights, term and permitted acts", "description": "The regime in force and what it allows.", "questions": [ { "id": "rights-record-q01", "text": "What rights subsist in toponym, in which jurisdictions, and until when?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "rights-record-q02", "text": "Which acts are permitted without further permission, and which must an agent refuse?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a toponym came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a toponym and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a toponym is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a toponym, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a toponym, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a toponym is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 12, "findings": 14, "questions": 38 } } } }