dfn Element
Module
The dfn element is an inline element declared by the XHTML 1.1 Text Module (Inline Phrasal)
Elements in the Text Module are:span | br (Inline Structural Support Module)em | strong | q | cite | abbr | acronym | code | var | kbd | samp | dfn (Inline Phrasal Support Module)div | p (Block Structural Support Module)h1 - h6 | blockquote | pre | address (Block Phrasal Support Module)
Description
The dfn element is used to denote the 'defining instance' of a term.
For example:
<p><dfn>Oojimaflip</dfn>
is a generic noun which is usually used in speech in place of another, specific noun (one that the
speaker has forgotten or simply does not know). For example,
"Has anyone seen the oojimaflip?" may be enquired of someone,
who is then expected to somehow guess the intended specific noun
(the one which has been replaced by the generic "oojimaflip") from the context of the conversation.
A verbal description of the said oojimaflip
(or the actual specific noun, if remembered) is usually required if the
questioner is to receive an satisfactory answer to his or her enquiry.</p>
This example renders as:
Oojimaflip is a generic noun which is usually used in speech in place of another, specific noun (one that the speaker has forgotten or simply does not know). For example, "Has anyone seen the oojimaflip?" may be enquired of someone, who is then expected to somehow guess the intended specific noun (the one which has been replaced by the generic "oojimaflip") from the context of the conversation. A verbal description of the said oojimaflip (or the actual specific noun, if remembered) is usually required if the questioner is to receive an satisfactory answer to his or her enquiry.
As you can see from this example, it is only the defining instance of the term 'oojimaflip' which is
enclosed in a dfn element. Subsequent occurrences of the word are not marked up.
The example has no styles applied to it and so the dfn element is displayed using your
browser's default behaviour, which is commonly to render the term in italics.
See also definition lists, which are created using the dl element.
#REQUIRED Attributes
There are no #REQUIRED attributes on the dfn element.
Specific Attributes
There are no specific attributes declared on the dfn element.
Common Attributes
dfn element are listed below:From the Core Attribute Collection
class[ type NMTOKENS ]- One or more space separated classes
id[ type ID ]- A unique identifier for the element
style[ type CDATA ], from the Style Attribute Module (deprecated)- Element-specific styles
title[ type Text ]- Descriptive title for the element (in some user agents this may appear as a "tooltip" when the mouse hovers over the element)
xmlns[ type URI - #FIXED 'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' ]- XML namespace
From the I18N Attribute Collection
dir[ type Enumeration(ltr | rtl)], from the Bi-directional Text Module- Left-to-right or right-to-left directionality
xml:lang[ type LanguageCode ]- A language code for the element
From the Events Attribute Collection
All attributes in the
Events Attribute Collection
are supported:onclick, ondblclick, onmousedown, onmouseup, onmouseover, onmousemove, onmouseout, onkeypress, onkeydown, onkeyup
Content Model
The Content Model for thedfn element is:
( #PCDATA | Inline.mix )*
See Content Model & Nesting for information about Content Model syntax and Nesting Groups.
Valid children of dfn
- #PCDATA
- From the Text Module:
abbr,acronym,br,cite,code,dfn,em,kbd,q,samp,span,strong,var - From the Hypertext Module:
a - From the Forms Module:
button,input,label,select,textarea - From the Images Module:
img - From the Presentation Module:
b,big,i,small,sub,sup,tt - From the Client-side Image Map Module:
map - From the Scripting Module:
noscript,script - From the Edit Module:
del,ins - From the Bi-directional Text Module:
bdo - From the Object Module:
object - From the Ruby Annotation Module:
ruby
Valid parents of dfn
- From the Text Module:
abbr,acronym,address,cite,code,dfn,div,em,h1-h6,kbd,p,pre,q,samp,span,strong,var - From the Hypertext Module:
a - From the List Module:
dd,dt,li - From the Tables Module:
caption,td,th - From the Forms Module:
button,fieldset,label,legend - From the Presentation Module:
b,big,i,small,sub,sup,tt - From the Edit Module:
del,ins - From the Bi-directional Text Module:
bdo - From the Object Module:
object - From the Ruby Annotation Module:
rb,rt
Page Footer & Copyright
Copyright © Sally Maughan 2005-2009 (Page last updated on 01 Oct 2009)
*
- hosted by *Openstrike
Content based on the W3C Working Draft: *XHTML 1.1 and Recommendation: *XHTML Modularisation 1.1.
W3C, XHTML, XML, HTML, CSS and MathML are *Trademarks of the W3C (*MIT, *ERCIM, *Keio) with which the site's author has no connection.