Plurality is complicated, and there's a lot of terminology you might be unfamiliar with! This page defines some of the key terms used elsewhere on this site.
Jump to:
An individual member of a system. Most commonly used by disordered systems, whereas non-disordered systems often prefer alternate terms with less clinical connotations such as "headmate", "member", etc.
A general term for a collective of multiple entities existing in one body, whether as a result of a disorder such as DID or OSDD, or by other means such as random chance, intentional creation, religious practices, and so on, though non-disordered collectives often prefer alternative terms.
endogenic (adj.) — A collective whose formation was not caused by trauma.
traumagenic (adj.) — A collective whose formation was caused by trauma.
mixed origin (adj.) — A collective formed from more than one type of origin.
singlet (n.) — A person who is not a collective, the opposite of "system".
A descriptor for collectives that is explicitly inclusive of non-disordered collectives, lacking the connotation of disorder sometimes associated with "system". Typically used as an adjective, but can also be used as a noun in the same way as system.
A state of being between multiple and singular. Often characterized by having multiple "facets", comparable to alters in a multiple system, which aren't fully independent alters but rather layer over a core or collective personality.
Generally speaking, not everyone in a system can be controlling their shared body at once, or life would be total chaos. When a particular member is in control, they are said to be "fronting" or "in front". For systems that have a headspace, many will have a specific location tied to fronting, often referred to as the "front room".
co-front (v.) — Multiple members fronting at the same time, often by swapping control back and forth or by controlling different parts of the body simultaneously.
co-conscious (adj.) — Describes members who are currently aware of the outside world, but are not fronting. Co-conscious members can often communicate more easily with fronting members than they otherwise could, or cause "passive influence" that layers their mannerisms or behaviors over the current fronter's.
A portmanteau of "system discovery", often used to refer to the point at which a system became aware of their multiplicity.
A system member who is based in some way on a "source" outside the system. This can take a lot of forms, most commonly being a "copy" of that source, and often includes "exomemories" related to it.
fictive (n.) — An introject who is sourced from a fictional character.
factive (n.) — An introject who is sourced from a real person, living or historical.
mythtive (n.) — An introject who is sourced from mythology; a rarer term sometimes used in place of fictive to emphasize the specific nature of their source.
A system member whose internal age is very young, usually considered to be roughly age 12 and below. While they are in many ways similar to non-alter children, they are also still part of a collective, and an individual little's approximate age and relevant safety restrictions may vary greatly across different metrics.
middle (n., adj.) — Sometimes used to refer to older littles, or to members who are too old to be littles but too young to be adults.
teen alter (n.) — A system member whose internal age is in their teenage years. Often overlaps with "middle" in age range.
snapshot (n.) — A system member who is a duplicate of another system member, but "frozen in time" at a particular age or moment.
A member of a collective who is the result of an intense personal connection with a fictional character. Analagous to fictives in many ways, but typically considered to have non-psychological origins. In many cases, soulbonds consider themselves to have existed independently in another reality prior to coming to this one.
A state in which an alter is unreachable by the rest of the system, essentially hibernating indefinitely. While it isn't generally possible for individual alters to die, dormancy is often considered the closest equivalent.
The process of two alters merging into one, which can occur for various reasons. Many systems dislike this process, as many therapists still see "final fusion" (fusion between all alters of a system back into a singlet) as the ideal treatment goal rather than "functional multiplicity" (remaining a collective, but breaking down amnesia and communication barriers to improve day to day difficulties), and may attempt to force or coerce systems into that process. Despite that, fusion can also be a positive when it occurs naturally or consensually.
The act of consciously or subconsciously presenting as though the current fronter was a different alter, or of acting as though you were not a system, as a defense mechanism against discovery or discrimination. Can also be used as a noun referring to that constructed persona itself.
The process of forming a new alter, especially in disordered systems. Can be caused by stress or trauma, happen naturally for unclear reasons, or even in some cases be intentionally induced.
An "inner world" in which alters can exist when not in front. Can vary greatly in scale, complexity, and vividity between systems, anywhere from a single room to a sprawling multiverse, and is often deeply linked to the system's structure and interests. Referred to by many names across different collectives.
A group of system members who are separate from the majority of the system. Similar to a subsystem, but "set apart" from the central system, rather than being a subset of the main system or a member who is themselves a system.
A connected group of system members within another system, often in the form of a system member who is themselves a system, resulting in a nested structure. Subsystems often have one collective "body" in the system's main headspace, with a "subfront" among its members to determine who is accessible to the rest of the system at any given time. Sometimes used as an umbrella term for any group of system members regardless of structure.
A type of mental disorder which results in chronic dissociation to the point of interfering with day to day life, including DID and OSDD.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (n.) — The most well-known type of CDD, in which the extent of dissociation causes the formation of multiple distinct identities (alters) with some level of dissociative amnesia between them. Previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Outside of the US, the prerequisite of dissociative amnesia is not always considered a requirement.
Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (n.) — A catch-all for CDDs which do not fit a more specific diagnosis, used almost exclusively in the US. The most relevant types in plural contexts are OSDD-1a (DID symptoms without distinct alters) and OSDD-1b (DID symptoms without dissociative amnesia). Previously known as Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.
Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder (n.) — A diagnosis used primarily outside of the US, in which a system exhibits the normal signs of DID but rarely or never fully "switches" between alters, typically having one dominant alter who is sometimes influenced by or co-conscious with any number of non-dominant alters.
People who identify as partially or entirely non-human in some way, encompassing a broad range of different identities. An individual's specific type of identification is known as a "kintype", such as robotkin, faekin, or fictionkin. In our system specifically, the majority of our non-human members do not choose to identify as otherkin, with those who do mostly being those who are also partially human.
therian (n.) — Short for "therianthrope", a subset of otherkin specific to animal kintypes, for which communities are often separate from broader otherkin spaces.
fictionkin (n.) — A kintype for kinning specific fictional characters. Often considered to include fictives, though our system does not generally prefer the term.