What is "relational database"

n. (context databases English) A database consisting of separate tables, having explicitly defined relationships, and whose elements may be selectively combined as the results of query.

n. a database in which relations between information items are explicitly specified as accessible attributes; "in a relational database the data are organized as a number of differently sized tables"

A relational database is a digital database whose organization is based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. The various software systems used to maintain relational databases are known as a relational database management system (RDBMS). Virtually all relational database systems use SQL (Structured Query Language) as the language for querying and maintaining the database.