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<span id="g_t_0040dfn_007bterm_007d"></span><h4 class="subsection">7.1.12 <code>@dfn</code>{<var>term</var>}</h4>
<span id="dfn"></span><span id="index-dfn"></span>
<p>Use the <code>@dfn</code> command to identify the introductory or defining
use of a technical term. Use the command only in passages whose
purpose is to introduce a term which will be used again or which the
reader ought to know. Mere passing mention of a term for the first
time does not deserve <code>@dfn</code>. The command generates italics in
the printed manual, and double quotation marks in the Info file. For
example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">Getting rid of a file is called @dfn{deleting} it.
</pre></div>
<p>produces
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Getting rid of a file is called <em>deleting</em> it.
</p></blockquote>
<p>As a general rule, a sentence containing the defining occurrence of a
term should be a definition of the term. The sentence does not need
to say explicitly that it is a definition, but it should contain the
information of a definition—it should make the meaning clear.
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