Explanatory or content notes are used to add explanations, comments or other additional information relating to the main content but would make the text too long or awkward to read. Such notes may include supporting references.

serving or intended to explain or make clear. “explanatory notes” “an explanatory paragraph” synonyms: informative, instructive. serving to instruct or enlighten or inform.

An explanatory dictionary or defining dictionary is a dictionary that provides definitions of word meanings at its entries. It may give additional information on pronunciation, grammar, etymology, and so on. In practice, it is equivalent to a monolingual general dictionary.

The order of senses within an entry is historical: the sense known to have been first used in English is entered first. This is not to be taken to mean, however, that each sense of a multisense word developed from the immediately preceding sense.