{
  "dataset": "glossary",
  "record": {
    "id": "eav-model",
    "term": "Entity-Attribute-Value Model",
    "category": "optimization",
    "short_def": "A data model that stores facts as entity-attribute-value triples, so an entity's properties can be listed, typed and queried one attribute at a time.",
    "long_def": "In the EAV model, each fact is a row: which entity, which attribute, what value. It suits sparse, evolving schemas where entities have many possible attributes but each has only some — exactly the shape of a semantic reference. Model the entity as typed attributes first, and every representation (HTML, markdown, JSON-LD, API) renders from that one record.",
    "see_also": [
      "knowledge-graph",
      "json-ld",
      "agentic-seo"
    ],
    "etymology_origin": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93attribute%E2%80%93value_model — long-established database modelling pattern"
    },
    "related_to": [
      "knowledge-graph",
      "json-ld",
      "agentic-seo",
      "grounding"
    ],
    "contrast_with": "Unlike a fixed-column table where every row shares the same attributes, EAV stores one attribute per row, so entities with different, sparse attribute sets fit the same model.",
    "example": "Every entry in this Almanac is an EAV record: the protocol 'MCP' is a set of typed attributes (layer, transport, governance_body...) that render identically as a page, a markdown twin and JSON.",
    "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93attribute%E2%80%93value_model",
    "status": "active",
    "why_it_matters": "EAV is the modelling backbone of this site and of Koray Tugberk Gubur's semantic SEO: model the entity as data first, and schema can never contradict the visible text because both render from one record.",
    "sameAs": [
      "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity%E2%80%93attribute%E2%80%93value_model"
    ],
    "bridge_entity": "knowledge-graph",
    "last_verified": "2026-07-06",
    "md_twin": "/glossary/eav-model.md"
  }
}