diff --git a/entities.py b/entities.py
index 12bde733d7b204c2c8384bb97883ed55e5cb3eec_ZW50aXRpZXMucHk=..db7398f9e83b5554a6b88d55e0f6706eaae7a90d_ZW50aXRpZXMucHk= 100644
--- a/entities.py
+++ b/entities.py
@@ -138,49 +138,6 @@
                             update_structure(left, relation, right)
         return structure
 
-    def topdown_definition(self, parent):
-        """Return the container definition of the composite graph from
-        `parent` entity.
-
-        This "definition" is a dictionary mapping entity types of the
-        composite graph reachable from `parent` entity type to a set of
-        `(rtype, role)` where `role` refers to the upstream entity type in
-        `rtype` relation walking towards the top-level `parent` entity type.
-        """
-        return self._definition(parent, True)
-
-    def bottomup_definition(self, parent):
-        """Return the container definition of the composite graph from
-        `parent` entity.
-
-        This "definition" is a dictionary mapping entity types of the
-        composite graph reachable from `parent` entity type to a set of
-        `(rtype, role)` where `role` refers to the downstream entity type in
-        `rtype` relation walking downwards from the top-level `parent` entity
-        type.
-        """
-        return self._definition(parent, False)
-
-    def _definition(self, parent, topdown, _visited=None):
-        """Return a dict {etype: [(rtype, role)]} with structural relations of
-        the composite graph starting from `parent` entity type and walking the
-        graph either downstream or upstream depending on `topdown` being True
-        or False.
-        """
-        if _visited is None:
-            _visited = set()
-        defn = {}
-        for (rtype, role), children in self.child_relations(parent):
-            for child in sorted(children):
-                defn.setdefault(child, set()).add((rtype, role if topdown else neg_role(role)))
-                if child in _visited:
-                    continue
-                _visited.add(child)
-                for etype, relations in self._definition(
-                        child, topdown, _visited=_visited).iteritems():
-                    defn.setdefault(etype, set()).update(relations)
-        return defn
-
     def parent_related(self, entity):
         """Yield information items on entities related to `entity` through
         composite relations walking the graph upstream from `entity`.
@@ -397,7 +354,8 @@
     parent (which may be the container or a contained).
     """
     graph = CompositeGraph(schema, skiprtypes=skiprtypes, skipetypes=skipetypes)
-    return graph.bottomup_definition(etype)
+    return dict((child, set(relinfo))
+                for child, relinfo in graph.parent_structure(etype).iteritems())
 
 
 @skip_meta
diff --git a/test/test_compound.py b/test/test_compound.py
index 12bde733d7b204c2c8384bb97883ed55e5cb3eec_dGVzdC90ZXN0X2NvbXBvdW5kLnB5..db7398f9e83b5554a6b88d55e0f6706eaae7a90d_dGVzdC90ZXN0X2NvbXBvdW5kLnB5 100644
--- a/test/test_compound.py
+++ b/test/test_compound.py
@@ -92,28 +92,6 @@
         structure = graph.parent_structure('OnlineAccount')
         self.assertEqual(structure, {})
 
-    def test_topdown_definition(self):
-        graph = CompositeGraph(self.schema)
-        defn = sort_keys(graph.topdown_definition('Agent'))
-        expected = {
-            'OnlineAccount': [('account', 'subject')],
-            'Biography': [('biography', 'subject')],
-            'Event': [('event', 'subject'), ('relates', 'subject')],
-            'Anecdote': [('event', 'subject'), ('narrated_by', 'object')],
-        }
-        self.assertEqual(defn, expected)
-
-    def test_bottomup_definition(self):
-        graph = CompositeGraph(self.schema)
-        defn = sort_keys(graph.bottomup_definition('Agent'))
-        expected = {
-            'OnlineAccount': [('account', 'object')],
-            'Biography': [('biography', 'object')],
-            'Event': [('event', 'object'), ('relates', 'object')],
-            'Anecdote': [('event', 'object'), ('narrated_by', 'subject')],
-        }
-        self.assertEqual(defn, expected)
-
     def test_parent_related_singleton(self):
         graph = CompositeGraph(self.schema)
         with self.admin_access.repo_cnx() as cnx: