User:Ultimateria/sandbox
Links in headword lines
[edit](To add to Wiktionary:English entry guidelines#Headword-line templates.)
For multi-word entries, links to their constituent words in the headword line can be a helpful resource. Most linking is handled automatically by English headword-line templates, but the templates assume that each word in the term exists in English. Exceptions should be considered with the term's etymology in mind, and special care should be taken to avoid linking to terms that don't exist, or exist in a source language but not English. Every English word in the headword that meets our Criteria for inclusion should be linked to, even basic words like the or and. The following examples use simple wiki markup, but shorter modified links are also available for |head= parameters.
As a basic example, {{en-noun}} at hot dog automatically links to the English sections of hot and dog. Hyphens and apostrophes are also automatically interpreted by the English headword templates, as in self-reliant and child's play.
Terms that are borrowed from other languages should refer to the source term in the etymology section and not in the headword line. For example, at persona non grata, the template {{en-noun}} assumes that persona, non, and grata are English words. The parameter |nolink=1 is used to prevent the template from linking to these pages. Although persona is a common word in English and derives from the same Latin term, English persona non grata does not derived from English persona and thus shouldn't link to it in the headword line. That connection should be mentioned under the ==Related terms== header.
Compound terms spelled with spaces are sometimes further compounded, such as snapping turtle → common snapping turtle. Based on its etymology, the headword should be broken down as |head=[[common]] [[snapping turtle]]}}.
Terms with capitalized words in them should link to the lower-case form of common nouns. For example, at Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic is always capitalized while Ocean should link to ocean. This can be typed as a raw link |head=[[Atlantic]] [[ocean|Ocean]]}}, or with the template {{U}}: |head=[[Atlantic]] {{U|ocean}}}}. Always consider the etymology when deciding if the headword should link to the capitalized or lower-case term. For example, West Indies should link to west, the cardinal direction, but West syndrome derives from the surname West and should link there.
Entries with non-lemma inflected forms in the headword line may or may not link to the lemma instead. For example, at work wonders, the headword will automatically link to the inflected form wonders, but a link to wonder that displays as wonders may be manually specified.
Because borrowings into English are inconsistently italicized in running text, it is generally not necessary to italicize the headword. Exceptions may come from field-specific terms such as n-dimensional.
Entries without a space in the title do not require any linking. The headword of chainsaw, for example, should not be broken down into links to chain and saw; this information belongs in the etymology section instead.
When linking manually to a term, only square brackets ([[x]]) or the {{U}} template are needed. There is no need to link to a language or part of speech header with hash signs (page#Section) or use the templates {{l}} or {{m}}.