# Plain words

The glossary: every technical term in this guide in one plain sentence, grouped by theme, with a link to the page that explains it.

Author: Murali Sid (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid)
Source: https://www.agenticarchitectureskills.com/architecture/plain-words
Published: 2026-09-18
Updated: 2026-10-15
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Cite as: Murali Sid. Plain words. Agentic Architecture Skills. https://www.agenticarchitectureskills.com/architecture/plain-words

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This guide is written for everyone who will work with agents, not only the people who build them. That includes leaders, managers, and specialists in finance, risk, legal and operations. Every technical word in the guide has a plain meaning. This page is the glossary. It gives each term in one plain sentence.

## How terms work on the pages [#how-terms-work-on-the-pages]

A word with a dotted underline has a glossary entry. Hover over it, or tap it on a phone, to see its plain meaning. Where a term has its own page, the tooltip links to that page.

The main ideas get a real link the first time a page mentions them. Those ideas include [the fourteen layers](/layers), [the agent lifecycle](/architecture/agent-lifecycle) and [the seven capabilities](/architecture/system-view). Each page also shows a row of related concepts, one click away.

## The six groups [#the-six-groups]

The entries fall into six groups:

* agents and autonomy
* control and security
* data and knowledge
* learning and quality
* running it day to day
* standards and regulation

<Glossary />

**Next step:** return to [Start here](/start) or [the architecture overview](/architecture).

<details>
  <summary>
    Explore this topic
  </summary>

  * [The canonical glossary](/library/glossary)
  * [The target-state architecture](/architecture)
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