General Formal Ontology Core (GFO-core)
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General Formal Ontology Core (GFO-core)

This version:
https://w3id.org/gfo-core/release/2025-10-01
Revision:
2025-10-01
Authors:
Alexandr Uciteli
Christoph Beger
Frank Loebe
Franz Matthies
Heinrich Herre
Konrad Höffner
Patryk Burek
Ralph Schäfermeier
Download serialization:
JSON-LD RDF/XML N-Triples TTL
License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as:
Alexandr Uciteli, Christoph Beger, Frank Loebe, Franz Matthies, Heinrich Herre, Konrad Höffner, Patryk Burek, Ralph Schäfermeier. General Formal Ontology Core (GFO-core). Revision: 2025-10-01. Retrieved from: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/release/2025-10-01
DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.14833002
Vocabulary maintained at:
https://github.com/Onto-Med/gfo-light
Provenance of this page
Ontology Specification Draft

GFO-core: Overview back to ToC

This ontology has the following classes and properties.

Classes

Object Properties

Data Properties

Annotation Properties

GFO-core: Description back to ToC

GFO-core contains the core GFO entities and serves as a common basis for both GFO variants (light and full). For some use cases, it may be sufficient to use GFO-core alone as a kind of minimal top-level gfo-core.

Cross-reference for GFO-core classes, object properties and data properties back to ToC

This section provides details for each class and property defined by GFO-core.

Classes

Attributivec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Attributive

Qualities (attributes, traits, characteristics, etc.) of individuals, relations (relators) between them and roles they play in different contexts are subsumed under the category Attributive.
Attributives are individuals that depend on other individuals by some kind of dependency relation.
has super-classes
Concrete individual c
is in domain of
attributive of op, boolean value dp, decimal value dp, situation part of op, string value dp, unit dp
is in range of
has attributive op, has situation part op

Categoryc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Category

The notion of category covers all abstract entities that can be instantiated by or are predicated of other entities.
has super-classes
Entity c
is in domain of
instantiated by op
is in range of
instance of op

Chronoidc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Chronoid

Chronoids are real-valued time intervals with endpoints.
Example 
The time (extension) of a football match (from the start point in time to the end point in time)
has super-classes
Time entity c

Concrete individualc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/ConcreteIndividual

Concrete individuals are entities that have an immediate relation to time or to space-time. They exist in time.
has super-classes
Individual c
has sub-classes
Attributive c, Continuant c, Situation c
is in domain of
has time op
is in range of
time of op

Continuantc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Continuant

Social or material (three-dimensional) objects, their groups/aggregates, parts and boundaries (two-, one- and zero-dimensional entities, i.e., surfaces, lines and points) are subsumed under the category Continuant.
Continuants are concrete individuals that persist through time and are wholly present at every point of their existence time (lifetime).
has super-classes
Concrete individual c
is in domain of
participates in op
is in range of
has participant op

Entityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Entity

Everything that exists is called an entity.
has sub-classes
Category c, Individual c
is in domain of
instance of op
is in range of
instantiated by op

Individualc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Individual

Individuals are entities which cannot be further instantiated.
has super-classes
Entity c
has sub-classes
Concrete individual c, Time entity c
is in domain of
date time value dp, has attributive op, has part op, part of op, temporally related with op
is in range of
attributive of op, has part op, part of op, temporally related with op

Processc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Process

Processes are cohesive, i.e., causally and temporally connected.
Processes are dynamic situations that happen in time and have a temporal extension (period of time/chronoid).
Example 
A treatment of a patient in a hospital
Football match
The course of an illness
The first half of the match
has super-classes
Situation c

Situationc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/Situation

Situations can be static (state) or dynamic (process).
Situations are combinations of contextually related attributives.
has super-classes
Concrete individual c
has sub-classes
Process c, State c
is in domain of
has participant op, has situation part op, leads to op, results from op, situation part of op
is in range of
has situation part op, leads to op, participates in op, results from op, situation part of op

Statec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/State

States are cohesive, i.e., causally and temporally connected.
States are static situations that happen either at a point in time (time boundary) or during a period of time (chronoid).
Example 
A risk state when treating a patient in hospital if his laboratory values (qualities) are in the critical range over a certain period of time
The state after the wedding of John and Mary (i.e., the state in which they are married containing the marriage relator with a husband and a wife role)
The state at the end of a football match containing players' qualities (e.g., number of goals or assists), teams' qualities (e.g., number of goals or ball possession) and a winner-loser relator with one team playing the winner role and the other team playing the loser role
has super-classes
Situation c

Time boundaryc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/TimeBoundary

Example 
Start point in time of a football match
has super-classes
Time entity c

Time entityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/TimeEntity

The time entities defined in GFO-core are points in time (time boundaries) and time intervals/periods (chronoids), which consist of points in time.
has super-classes
Individual c
has sub-classes
Chronoid c, Time boundary c
is in domain of
time of op
is in range of
has time op

Object Properties

afterop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/after

has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
before op

attributive ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/attributiveOf

has domain
Attributive c
has range
Individual c
is inverse of
has attributive op

beforeop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/before

X before Y: Xf < Ys
has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
after op

caused byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/causedBy

has super-properties
results from op
is inverse of
causes op

causesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/causes

has super-properties
leads to op
is inverse of
caused by op

duringop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/during

X during Y: Xs > Ys and Xf < Yf
has super-properties
temporal part of op
is inverse of
temporally contains op

has attributiveop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasAttributive

has domain
Individual c
has range
Attributive c
is inverse of
attributive of op

has partop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasPart

has sub-properties
has situation part op
has domain
Individual c
has range
Individual c
is inverse of
part of op

has participantop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasParticipant

has domain
Situation c
has range
Continuant c
is inverse of
participates in op

has situation partop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasSituationPart

has super-properties
has part op
has domain
Situation c
has range
Attributive c or Situation c
is inverse of
situation part of op

has temporal partop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasTemporalPart

has super-properties
temporally related with op
has sub-properties
temporally contains op, temporally finished by op, temporally started by op
is inverse of
temporal part of op

has timeop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasTime

has domain
Concrete individual c
has range
Time entity c
is inverse of
time of op

instance ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/instanceOf

has domain
Entity c
has range
Category c
is inverse of
instantiated by op

instantiated byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/instantiatedBy

has domain
Category c
has range
Entity c
is inverse of
instance of op

leads toop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/leadsTo

has sub-properties
causes op
has domain
Situation c
has range
Situation c
is inverse of
results from op

part ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/partOf

has sub-properties
situation part of op
has domain
Individual c
has range
Individual c
is inverse of
has part op

participates inop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/participatesIn

has domain
Continuant c
has range
Situation c
is inverse of
has participant op

results fromop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/resultsFrom

has sub-properties
caused by op
has domain
Situation c
has range
Situation c
is inverse of
leads to op

situation part ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/situationPartOf

has super-properties
part of op
has domain
Attributive c or Situation c
has range
Situation c
is inverse of
has situation part op

temporal part ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporalPartOf

X temporal part of Y: X starts Y or X finishes Y or X during Y
has super-properties
temporally related with op
has sub-properties
during op, temporally finishes op, temporally starts op
is inverse of
has temporal part op

temporally containsop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyContains

has super-properties
has temporal part op
is inverse of
during op

temporally equalop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyEqual

X equal Y: Xs = Ys and Xf = Yf
has super-properties
temporally related with op

temporally finished byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyFinishedBy

has super-properties
has temporal part op
is inverse of
temporally finishes op

temporally finishesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyFinishes

X finishes Y: Xs > Ys and Xf = Yf
has super-properties
temporal part of op
is inverse of
temporally finished by op

temporally meetsop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyMeets

X meets Y: Xf = Ys
has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
temporally met by op

temporally met byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyMetBy

has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
temporally meets op

temporally overlapped byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyOverlappedBy

has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
temporally overlaps op

temporally overlapsop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyOverlaps

X overlaps Y: Xs < Ys and Xf > Ys and Xf < Yf
has super-properties
temporally related with op
is inverse of
temporally overlapped by op

temporally related withop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyRelatedWith

If a temporal relation is applied to other concrete individuals as time intervals (attributive, continuant, process, situation), it is propagated to their existence times (hasTime).
Temporal relations between time intervals based on Allen, J. F. (1983). Maintaining knowledge about temporal intervals. Communications of the ACM, 26(11), 832-843.
has sub-properties
after op, before op, has temporal part op, temporal part of op, temporally equal op, temporally meets op, temporally met by op, temporally overlapped by op, temporally overlaps op
has domain
Individual c
has range
Individual c

temporally started byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyStartedBy

has super-properties
has temporal part op
is inverse of
temporally starts op

temporally startsop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/temporallyStarts

X starts Y: Xs = Ys and Xf < Yf
has super-properties
temporal part of op
is inverse of
temporally started by op

time ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/timeOf

has domain
Time entity c
has range
Concrete individual c
is inverse of
has time op

Data Properties

after date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/afterDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'after'
has super-properties
date time value dp

before date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/beforeDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'before'
has super-properties
date time value dp

boolean valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/booleanValue

has domain
Attributive c
has range
boolean

contains date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/containsDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'temporallyContains'
has super-properties
has temporal part date time value dp

date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/dateTimeValue

has sub-properties
after date time value dp, before date time value dp, has temporal part date time value dp
has domain
Individual c
has range
date Time

decimal valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/decimalValue

has domain
Attributive c
has range
decimal

finished by date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/finishedByDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'temporallyFinishedBy'
has super-properties
has temporal part date time value dp

has temporal part date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/hasTemporalPartDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'hasTemporalPart'
has super-properties
date time value dp
has sub-properties
contains date time value dp, finished by date time value dp, started by date time value dp

started by date time valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/startedByDateTimeValue

Shortcut for 'temporallyStartedBy'
has super-properties
has temporal part date time value dp

string valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/stringValue

has domain
Attributive c
has range
string

unitdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/gfo-core/unit

has domain
Attributive c
has range
string

Annotation Properties

alt Labelap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#altLabel

commentap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#comment

createdap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/created

creatorap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator

definitionap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#definition

descriptionap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description

doiap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/bibo/doi

exampleap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#example

homepageap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/homepage

licenseap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/license

modifiedap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/modified

preferred Namespace Prefixap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/vocab/vann/preferredNamespacePrefix

preferred Namespace U R Iap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/vocab/vann/preferredNamespaceURI

repositoryap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://usefulinc.com/ns/doap#repository

titleap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title

version Infoap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#versionInfo

Legend back to ToC

c: Classes
op: Object Properties
dp: Data Properties

Acknowledgments back to ToC

The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.