Definitions of new symbols merely abbreviate expressions in logical
frameworks, and no new facts (regarding previously defined symbols) should hold
because of a new definition. In Isabelle/HOL, definable symbols are types and
constants. The latter may be ad-hoc overloaded, i.e. have different definitions
for non-overlapping types. We prove that symbols that are independent of a new
definition may keep their interpretation in a model extension. This work
revises our earlier notion of model-theoretic conservative extension and
generalises an earlier model construction. We obtain consistency of theories of
definitions in higher-order logic (HOL) with ad-hoc overloading as a corollary.
Our results are mechanised in the HOL4 theorem prover.Comment: In Proceedings LFMTP 2020, arXiv:2101.0283
