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University Studies 



Vol. Ill DECEMBER, 1902 No. i 



Greek and Latin in Biological Nomenclature 



FREDERIC E. CLEMENTS 



"Nomina Veterum Graecorum et Romanorum plantis iniposita 

 laudo, ad conspectum vero Recentiorum plurium horreo. Nee 

 mirum factum! quis enim Tyro de nominibus fuit unquam in- 

 structus? quis unquam dedit circa denominationem plantarum 

 praecepta, demonstrationes, exempla?" Linnaeus Critica Botan- 

 ica I 1737. 



The following treatise is intended to serve as a compendium 

 of the principles of word-formation in Greek and Latin of suf- 

 ficient thoroughness to enable the biologist to construct in proper 

 manner any derivative desired. Further than this, various un- 

 fortunate usages which have obtained in nomenclature and the 

 many types of malformations will be considered in detail, and 

 suggestions will be made for their correction or elimination. 

 The treatment throughout is based upon the conviction that no 

 biologist should be content with a nomenclature that is doubtful 

 or crude in its philology. On the other hand, ultra-purism, to- 

 gether with the mooted questions pertaining solely to the classi- 

 cal philologist, will be avoided, since nomenclature for the sake 

 of uniformity and stability must rest upon the assured. For 

 these reasons, also, it is felt that, while he must conform to the 

 best usage of the language, the nomenclator must go a step fur- 

 ther, and, in the case of uncertain or various usage, establish a 

 definiteness which the language itself did not know. Further 

 warrant is found for this in the fact that the careless hand of 



University Studies, Vol. Ill, No. 1, December, 1902. 



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