Abstract
In terminology theories, hierarchical relationship between concepts is regarded to be central. After reviewing the classical theories and the criticism against them, the discussions and the points on the hierarchical relation are described, focusing on the individual concept, the partitive relation, and the context dependency of the hierarchy. The followings are concluded. In terminology, the hierarchical relations are subsequent relations resulting from the construction of a concept system, and therefore make few serious confusion in the terminology workplace even though they are inappropriately defined, compared to thesauri for information retrieval. The disciplinary view is reflected on the selection of essential characteristics. The arbitrariness and the intuitiveness are hardly avoidable in hierarchical relations. The exploitation of the viewpoint of hierarchical relation may be of use during the course of exploring the 'concept of concept' in terminology science, which is indispensable for the wider and multicultural application of the terminology theory.
