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I have a question about the WordNet data file-format. The wndb(5) manual page says in part:



I understand the second paragraph when the source/target numbers are non-zero, but the meaning of when the source/target are "0000" still isn't clear to me.

Let me take an example for the word "aristocrat." The index.noun entry is:

aristocrat n 1 4 @ ~ #m + 1 0 09807754

and the corresponding data.noun entry is:

09807754 18 n 03 aristocrat 0 blue_blood 0 patrician 0 013 @ 09623038 n 0000 #m 08388207 n 0000 + 01590484 a 0306 + 01590484 a 0102 ~ 09840639 n 0000 ~ 09872782 n 0000 ~ 10083823 n 0000 ~ 10175090 n 0000 ~ 10285135 n 0000 ~ 10472799 n 0000 ~ 10474064 n 0000 ~ 10505732 n 0000 ~ 10506642 n 0000 | a member of the aristocracy

the first "ptr" for which is:

@ 09623038 n 0000

and that data.noun entry begins with:

09623038 18 n 01 leader 0 058 @ 00007846 n 0000 ...

What not clear to me are which word(s) this relation are for. Does the hypernym ("@") relation hold for only the original word ("aristrocrat") to all words in the target synset (in this case, there's only "leader")?

Or does the relation hold for all words in the source synset ("aristocrat", "blue blood", and "patrician") to all words in the target synset?

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1 Answer 1

up vote 1 down vote accepted

The relation indeed holds for all words in the source synset to all words in the target synset.

This does not mean that leader is always an hypernym of aristocrat, but it holds true for the considered sense of aristocrat (a member of the aristocracy) and the considered sense of leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others). Some relations can sound weird, but WordNet isn't perfect and cannot be.

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