Why Glossary

A pocket glossary that speaks both languages: look a term up in English or Spanish, and read it in plain words.

almost 400 ready-made terms · add your own · works with any vault

English · Leer en español · Changelog

_{Real screenshots from a real vault, no mock-ups. Search in English or Spanish; each term shows both names and the plain definition.}

Half the words in tech, product and data are English, and most explanations of them assume you already know them. Why Glossary puts the answer one keystroke away, in both languages: a plain-words definition, a technical one, and an example — for the term you typed, in the language you typed it.

Not a web page. Not an AI guess. Notes in your own vault, that you can read, edit and extend.

What it does

One screen, both languages. Type latency or latencia: the result shows both names, the plain definition and related terms.	Preview without opening. Click any row and the panel on the right shows the plain, technical and example versions.
Plain first. A one-line explanation anyone can follow, a button to copy it into your note, then the technical version and an example.	Switch language in one click. The same card, the definitions in English or Spanish; related terms are links.

_{Term of the day. A card on the glossary screen brings up one term a day, so the glossary also teaches while you are not looking for anything.}

• Search in either language. Type latency or latencia, with or without accents. One result shows both names and the definition in the language you chose.
• Two levels of definition. A plain one anyone can follow, a technical one for when you need the precise version, and an example in context. Related terms are one click away.
• Hover in reading mode. Glossary terms are underlined in your notes; point at one and the card appears, without leaving the page.
• Study mode. Flash cards from your own glossary, in sessions of the size you pick, with the ones you missed coming back first.

More views

_{The A–Z list: the dark row is the keyboard selection, and every row shows both names and the plain definition.}

And also: an A–Z screen with domain filters · a side panel that stays open while you write · English and Spanish, one setting · the phone, same screens, no separate build.

Install

From the community directory — Community plugins → Browse → search Why Glossary → Install → Enable.

Open it with the command Abrir glosario (Cmd/Ctrl+P) or the book icon in the left ribbon.

First run, in one minute

1. Enable the plugin. The base glossary installs itself into a Why Glossary/ folder — almost 400 notes, no wizard, no key, no network.
2. Open the glossary from the ribbon, and type any word: chargeback, contracargo, latency.
3. Click a result to read the plain definition, the technical one and the example.
4. Point at an underlined term in any note in reading mode to see its card.

That's it. No configuration needed for any of the above.

Add your own terms

The base glossary is a starting point; the useful glossary is yours. Three ways in, all the same thing underneath:

• the Ingresá tus términos command (Cmd/Ctrl+P),
• the button on the glossary screen,
• the Tus términos row in the plugin settings.

Only the English and Spanish names are required. Your term is saved as a note in Why Glossary/Mis términos/. You can also write the note by hand:

---
en: "Chargeback"
es: "Contracargo"
aliases: ["Disputa de pago"]
dominio: "My terms"
simple_es: "Cuando un cliente reclama un cobro a su banco y el banco le devuelve la plata."
simple_en: "When a customer disputes a charge with their bank and the bank returns the money."
tecnica_es: "…"
tecnica_en: "…"
ejemplo_es: "…"
ejemplo_en: "…"
ver_tambien: ["Refund"]
---

Every field except en and es is optional.

What is in the base glossary

Almost 400 terms across eleven areas: AI agents and token economics, web development and software architecture, commercial and consulting work, data and databases, security and privacy, cloud and DevOps, AI and automation, product and design, payments, QA, and SaaS and integrations.

Definitions are written to stand on their own, for a general audience, and are not a substitute for a specialist — the plain version simplifies on purpose. Terms flagged verificar in their frontmatter are ones whose translation deserves a second pair of eyes; if you spot a mistake, open an issue.

The base glossary never overwrites your notes: edit a term and your version stays. Instalar el glosario base in settings restores anything you deleted.

Everything else

npm install
npm test         # builds a test bundle and runs the unit tests
npm run typecheck
npm run build    # → main.js

Support

Bugs and ideas: GitHub issues. Include your Obsidian version and your platform.

Contributing · Code of conduct · Security · MIT licence

Built by Felipe Córdova · Powered by DBB Labs

Don't Buy. Build.

_{That is the company's name, not a slogan: a studio of custom systems.
Buy what is standard. Build what is strategic.}

_{Free, MIT, no paid tier. If the glossary saved you a search, a beer is welcome — and if it did not, the plugin still works exactly the same.}