Enterprise Architect - Difference between Stereotype and Type

Question

I am using the Enterprise Architect and I saw in the properties of an element (> Related > Links) that there are displayed two meta informations for one element ("Element stereotype" and the other one for "Type"). Can someone explain me the difference between these two meta informations?

Thank you!

Answer 1

UML supports stereotypes, which are an inbuilt mechanism for logically extending or altering the meaning, display, characteristics or syntax of a basic UML model elements. You can apply stereotypes to a range of model element types. (Sparx)

Types are a common name for Classes and Interfaces and Enumerations and other such things if a language has them. Also is used without any exact definition.

Answer 2

When EA refers to "Type" in this context, it approximates to a UML Metaclass, i.e. a kind of element defined by the UML specification (e.g. Class, Interface, Activity). A Stereotype extends a UML metaclass to define a kind of element NOT defined by the UML specification.