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Word for something which is directly related to something else

English Language & Usage Asked on January 31, 2021

Suppose I am planning an event. I have a list of things like:

  • Get napkins from Bob
  • Meet with rental hall supervisor
  • Buy donuts from Donut-a-thon
  • Bake vegan cookies

From this list I can extrapolate a list of related items and their relation type like:

  • Bob / Person
  • Hall Supervisor / Person
  • donuts / Food
  • vegan cookies / Food
  • rental hall / Place
  • Donut-a-thon / Place

The list is fairly diverse and each of these items is related directly to the event in it’s own unique way. They are things linked to another thing. What would you call these? I’m looking for a single word, not a phrase.

“Relatives” and “Associates” are perfect when it comes to describing humans who are related and associated. But what about non-human things which are related or associated?

I’m basically looking for a synonym to “Related Thing”. e.g.,

  • The napkins are related to the event therefore they are a _____ of the event
  • The chalk is related to the chalkboard therefore the chalk is a _____ of the chalkboard

7 Answers

English generally doesn't group people and things into the same category; nor does it speak of people as if they were part of the same category as things. "Businessman's English" or "corporate-speak" is willing to do this, though; for example, it abbreviates "human resources" to "resources" and uses the word to mean "personnel."

Given this, David Pugh's suggestion is a good one; if there's a word anywhere in English for a category of prerequisites that includes both people and things, it's most likely to be a term of art in project management.

If you don't need a single word and don't mind sounding stuffy, "associated entities" might work.

If you need a single word and don't insist on English, I think that Scholastic Latin causae can be used in the sense you're looking for. I'm not trying to insult you by saying that -- although I am trying to express how hard it is to find a matching English word...

Answered by ExOttoyuhr on January 31, 2021

If you want to group items which have properties in common, could you not call these groups "categories". So, in your example, your categories would be "People"; "Food"; "Places". Or have I missed your point?

Answered by Margana on January 31, 2021

Each of the items on your planning list is a element of the plan:

noun

1 An essential or characteristic part of something abstract

ODO

Answered by ScotM on January 31, 2021

Associated items, persons, or places?

associated adjective: (of a person or thing) connected with something else. "two associated events"

synonyms: related, connected, linked, correlated, corresponding. see, Google

Answered by user98990 on January 31, 2021

Beel and Langor 2011, in a study of Mind mapping, refered to nodes. By using this term the relational aspect is conveyed by analogy.
Others writers on mind maps mention branches.

Brain science: talks of grid cells. =actual storage of items.

Information management: Quanta, tesserae, nodules, nuggets; from all of these the link is understood without implying a hierarchy. Phylum would add top-down.

I'm sure there's a botanical term, also, for the place where a bud will form on a branch.

Answered by Hugh on January 31, 2021

Accessory (noun):

a thing which can be added to something else in order to make it more useful, versatile or attractive.[Source]: ODO


Chalk is an accessory to the chalkboard.

Answered by Julie Carter on January 31, 2021

What about the word "association" ? Thing A is an association of Thing B. Or "associate". This works for either people or things.

Answered by Ralph on January 31, 2021

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