The example below lists several terms that refer to the same concept. In the AAT, hierarchical relationships link generic classes of objects, actions, or concepts to their members or species. If a concept is a type of, kind of, example of, or manifestation of another concept, then a genus-species relationship exists. A Narrower Term inherits all the characteristics of its Broader Term. Ultimately, chawls is still a species of dwellings, albeit with many details and refinements of meaning added by the intervening types.
Indentation is the standard visual cue for displaying hierarchical relationships.
Narrower Terms are sorted and indented under their Broader Term. Related Terms are cross-references, relationships, or links between terms that are not hierarchical or equivalent. In addition, in the current edition of the AAT, polyhierarchical relationships are represented by Related Terms. This happens because church plate is a collective term for many different types and forms of objects used for ecclesiastical purposes, thus it is placed in the Object Genres hierarchy. Individual examples of church plate, such as communion cups and chalices or candlesticks, for instance, are found in various other places in the AAT, because the AAT's organization stresses function and form over the context in which an object is used.