dictionary/thesaurus design examples syntax code

[venturacottage]

I am trying to put together an ebook listing plants and their details the syntax is
Genus name Specific name, COMMON ENGLISH NAME, details of the plant and its colours location etc go here
eg
Abelmoschus esculentus OKRA is valued for its edible green fruits, said to be shaped like lady's fingers - one of its common names in British English.

I have InDesign, MS Word and am used to Using H1, H2 etc but in this case I wish to keep these keywords on the same line but later compile as TOC/ Glossary etc.
Looking for guidance as to how to begin the mark up or any ebook dictionary/thesaurus example

[dickloraine]

You could use paragraphs first and then use regex and search and replace for the ebook.
Make a style for each and use words ability to set the following style so that you don't need to switch styles by hand each paragraph.
If you export that to html you have structured file where it should be easy to make it look like you want by using search and replace. Never used it, but word has a build in tool for making an index.

[PeterT]

I can't help but think that doing this using what I might call "pseudo markup", and then processing that through a script to actually convert it into the ebook format would be an idea. Something like

<plant>
 <genus>Abelmoschus</genus>
 <specific>esculentus</specific>
 <common>OKRA</common>
 <description>is valued for its edible green fruits, said to be shaped like lady's fingers - one of its common names in British English.</description>
</plant>

[dickloraine]

That is what I meant, just replace the pseudo markup with word styles. Ultimately every structured file will do it. Excel or a databse comes also to mind. What would be the best depends on additional usage and what the op is able to use.

[PeterT]

Ideally one could use a tool like XSLT to transform that into the desired format.