+++
title = "Glossary"
description = "Grafana glossary"
keywords = ["grafana", "intro", "glossary", "dictionary"]
type = "docs"
aliases = ["/docs/grafana/latest/guides/glossary"]
[menu.docs]
name = "Glossary"
identifier = "glossary"
parent = "guides"
weight = 500
+++

# Glossary

This topic lists words and abbreviations that are commonly used in the Grafana documentation and community.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Dashboard</td>
    <td>A set of one or more panels, organized and arranged into one or more rows, that provide an at-a-glance view of related information.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Data source</td>
    <td>A file, database, or service providing the data. Grafana supports a several data sources by default, and can be extended to support additional ones through plugins.</td>
  </tr>
    <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Graph</td>
    <td>A commonly-used visualization that displays data as points, lines, or bars.</td>
  </tr>
    <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Panel</td>
    <td>Basic building block in Grafana, composed by a query and a visualization. Can be moved and resized within a dashboard.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Plugin</td>
    <td>An extension of Grafana that allows users to provide additional functionality to enhance their experience. The types of plugins currently supported are:
    <ul>
      <li><b>App plugin:</b> Extends Grafana with a customized experience. It includes a set of panel and data source plugins, as well as custom pages.</li>
      <li><b>Data source plugin:</b> Extends Grafana with support for additional data sources.</li>
      <li><b>Panel plugin:</b> Extends Grafana with additional visualization options.</li>
    </ul>
    </td>
  </tr>
    <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Query</td>
    <td>Used to request data from a data source. The structure and format of the query depend on the specific data source.</td>
  </tr>
    <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Time series</td>
    <td>A series of measurements, ordered by time. Time series are stored in data sources and returned as the result of a query.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td style = "vertical-align: top;">Visualization</td>
    <td>A graphical representation of query results.</td>
  </tr>
</table>
