diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
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--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -1,9 +1,44 @@
 =======================================
 OpenStack Project Infrastructure Manual
 =======================================
+
 To build the manual, execute the following command::
 
   $ tox
 
 After running ``tox``, the documentation will be available for viewing
 in HTML format in the ``doc/build/`` directory.
+
+Terminology
+===========
+
+A note on terminology use in the manual:
+
+This is a manual that describes how to use the OpenStack project
+infrastructure.  The OpenStack project, and the Technical Committee
+(TC) in particular, from time to time uses words such as "project",
+"team", "program", "repository", etc. to help classify how it
+organizes the OpenStack project from an administrative point of view.
+This manual is in service of OpenStack, but does so primarily by
+documenting how developers and project drivers can use the
+infrastructure to accomplish their work.  While the TC may change its
+terms from time to time, it is not necessary for us to change all of
+the terminology in this manual to match.  We should strive for
+consistent terminology that matches what developers and our tooling
+use.  When we describe specific TC-related processes, we should use
+the current TC terminology to avoid confusion.
+
+Generally speaking these terms should be used as follows:
+
+Project: The overall idea that there is a bunch of people working on a
+bunch of code/text/etc.  It can also refer to that actual collection
+of code/text/etc (for instance, a project can be bundled up into a
+tarball, and extracted into a directory).  When a tool interacts with
+that collection of code/text/etc, it interacts with the project (even
+if it does so via the mechanism of git).
+
+Repository: There are times when one needs to refer to the actual
+source code management system of a project, that is, "git", and the
+actual technical implementations of that SCM.  In those cases where it
+is important to distinguish the actual attributes of the SCM from the
+project, it is useful to use the word "repository".