--- title: "Give one concept one trusted definition - Atlan MCP Cookbook" url: "https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/reconcile-terminology-across-systems/" description: "Confirm whether two differently-named fields mean the same thing, then link them under one governed definition so either name lands in the same place." --- > Atlan is hosting Context Conference, bringing together the leaders and builders at the frontier of giving AI the context it needs to understand their business. It runs online on October 28, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET. Atlan co-founder Prukalpa Sankar opens and closes the day. Leaders from AstraZeneca, BNY and Verizon share why they invest in context and what they get from it. Registrants get early access to The AI Context Gap, a new study from MIT Technology Review Insights. Register: https://atlan.com/context-conference/ Recipe 33 in [The Atlan MCP Cookbook](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/). Confirm whether two differently-named fields or terms mean the same thing, then link them under one governed definition so the next person searching either name lands in the same place. Use case: Make data understandable / Action: Make changes / Persona: Data Governance Lead, Data/BI Analyst / Effort: Moderate / Runs in: any AI tool Requires Atlan MCP connected to your AI tool: [set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview). ## 1. The task **Scenario.** Ops in one region tracks a balance as `cash_ledger`. Finance in another region calls the same balance `payments_settlement`. A new analyst gets asked to reconcile the two and can't tell if they're the same number under two names or genuinely different things. Nobody wants to be the person who merges two different metrics into one report. The ask: - The existing definition of each term in its own system - Whether they genuinely describe the same thing or only sound alike - One governed term both resolve to, with a record of exactly what changed Hero prompt: > Check whether `cash_ledger` and `payments_settlement` describe the same underlying balance. If they do, link them under one glossary term so anyone searching either name gets the same governed answer. Step by step: 1. Pull the first term's definition. Prompt: "Search for [cash_ledger] as written in its own system and pull whatever definition or description already exists." 2. Pull the second term's definition. Prompt: "Do the same for [payments_settlement] in its own system." 3. Compare to confirm they match. Prompt: "Compare the two definitions and their underlying columns side by side; tell me whether they truly describe the same thing or only sound similar." 4. Link both under one governed term. Prompt: "Link both under a single governed glossary term so a search on either [cash_ledger] or [payments_settlement] resolves to one answer, then list exactly what you changed." ## 2. What you'll give it Required context: - Both terms or field names, and the systems or schemas they come from - Write access to the glossary, for the linking step Optional context: - Whether the mismatch is a translation issue (different language, same concept) rather than a genuine naming divergence - A stakeholder from each side who should be looped in before the merge is finalized ## 3. What Atlan creates Outputs: - A documented alias or synonym relationship linking both terms to one glossary definition - Or, if they turn out not to match, a written explanation of exactly how they differ **Summary.** Anyone who searches `cash_ledger` or `payments_settlement` from now on lands on the same governed definition, instead of two people quietly reporting two different numbers under the same name. **Writes to Atlan.** This writes a new alias link (or an updated term description) into the glossary. It leaves the original two source fields untouched; only the governed definition layer changes. ## 4. Follow-up prompts - **Look for a third name:** "Check if any other system uses yet another name for this same balance." - **Audit the whole glossary:** "Audit the whole glossary for likely duplicate concepts under different names." - **Re-run after a migration:** "Re-run this after the next acquisition or system migration." ## 5. Tips & troubleshooting **Cook's note.** The riskiest version of this isn't two names for the same thing, it's two names for two subtly different things that someone merges anyway. Don't skip the comparison step to save time. - Match the client to the work. Use a client that shows you the proposed link before it writes it; this is a governance decision, not a lookup, and you want to eyeball it first. - Automate or chain it. Run this against a running list of terms flagged as "possibly duplicate" during onboarding or a merger integration, instead of waiting for someone to notice by accident. - Ask what it changed. After it runs, ask it to list exactly which term was updated and which alias was added, so you have an audit trail of every reconciliation it made. ## Related recipes - [Grow your business glossary](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/grow-your-business-glossary/): Bootstrap glossary terms from how your assets already use business concepts. - [Decode internal jargon without asking around](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/decode-internal-jargon-against-the-glossary/): Check whether an internal acronym or jargon term already has a governed definition before you interrupt five people on Slack to ask. - [Enrich assets with your context](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/enrich-assets-with-your-context/): Bring context that lives outside Atlan, like a spreadsheet or a Confluence page, onto your assets as owners, tags, and additional metadata. [Browse all recipes](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/) / [Set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview)