| |
Difino
| • | This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages understand and remember the scientific names of organisms.
The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants is largely derived from Latin, as are the names used for higher taxa such as families and orders. At the time when Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) devised the hierarchical scientific classification of living things, Latin was used in Western Europe as the language of science, so it was natural that he should use the Latin name of each organism as its definitive scientific name. Although Latin is now largely unused except by classical scholars and for certain purposes by botanists and the Roman Catholic Church, the use of Latin names remains. It is helpful to most people to be able to understand the common words that arise from scientific names, and the table lists some of these; while the Latin names do not always correspond to the current English common names, they are often related, and if their meanings are understood they are easier to recall. Also, the use of Latin and Greek avoids subjectivity and political argument, while promoting an honest description of the subject or object of investigation.
The list includes a collection of scientific words and common prefixes used in English. Words that are very similar to their English forms are not included.
Often a genus or specific name is simply the Latin or Greek name for the animal (e.g. Canis is Latin for a dog). These words are not included in the table below, because they will only occur for one or two taxa. The words listed below are the common adjectives and other modifiers that repeatedly occur in the systematic names of many organisms.
Not all the words or parts of words used in scientific names for living things are derived from Latin. Some are derived from Greek, some from languages local to the places where the organisms are found, and many from the names of the people who first described a species or other taxon. However all are treated grammatically as if they were Latin words. In particular, this means that in names indication possession
Source: [wikipedia: list of latin and greek words commonly used in systematic names]
|
alebrije.info
:
alebrijes
:
sites
:
advertising
:
link to us
:
contact
|
|