International scientific vocabulary

International Scientific Vocabulary (or ISV) is a form of vocabulary comprising scientific and specialized words whose language of origin may or may not be certain, but which are in current use in several modern languages. The name "International Scientific Vocabulary" was first used by Philip Gove in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1961). As noted by Crystal, science is an especially productive field for new coinages.

According to Webster's Third, "some ISV words (like haploid) have been created by taking a word with a rather general and simple meaning from one of the languages of antiquity, usually Latin and Greek, and conferring upon it a very specific and complicated meaning for the purposes of modern scientific discourse." An ISV word is typically a compound or a derivative which "gets only its raw materials, so to speak, from antiquity." Its morphology may vary across languages.

The online version of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (Merriam-Webster, 2002) adds that the ISV "consists of words or other linguistic forms current in two or more languages" that "differ from New Latin in being adapted to the structure of the individual languages in which they appear." In other words, ISV terms are often made with Greek, Latin, or other combining forms, but each language pronounces the resulting neo-lexemes within its own phonemic "comfort zone," and makes morphological connections using its normal morphological system.

McArthur characterizes ISV words and morphemes as "translinguistic", explaining that they operate "in many languages that serve as mediums for education, culture, science, and technology." Besides European languages, such as Russian, Swedish, English, and Spanish, ISV lexical items also function in Japanese, Malay, Filipino, and other Asian languages. According to McArthur, no other set of words and morphemes is so international.

The ISV is one of the concepts behind the development and standardization of Interlingua. Scientific and medical terms in Interlingua are largely of Greco-Latin origin, but, like most Interlingua words, they appear in a wide range of languages. Interlingua's vocabulary is established using a group of control languages selected because they radiate words into, and absorb words from, a large number of other languages. A prototyping technique then selects the most recent common ancestor of each eligible Interlingua word or affix. The word or affix takes a contemporary form based on the control languages. This procedure is meant to give Interlingua the most generally international vocabulary possible.

Words and word roots which have different meanings from those in the original languages

This is a list of scientific words and word roots which have different meanings from in the original languages.

word or root	scientific meaning	original language	original word	original meaning	notes
capno-	carbon dioxide	Greek	καπνος	smoke
electro-	electricity	Greek	ἠλεκτρον	amber	via static electricity from rubbing amber
thorax	chest (anatomy)	Greek	θωραξ	breastplate
toxo-	poison	Greek	τοξον	bow (weapon)	via "poisoned arrow". It means "bow" in Toxodon
macro-	big	Greek	μακρός	long
In names of biological taxa
-ceras	ammonite	Greek	κερας	horn	via resemblance to a ram's horn
-crinus	crinoid	Greek	κρινος	lily	extracted from name "crinoid"
grapto-	graptolite	Greek	γραπτο-	writing	via resemblance of fossil
-gyrinus	labyrinthodont	Greek	γυρινος	tadpole
-lestes	predator	Greek	λῃστης	robber
-mimus	ornithomimid	Greek	μιμος	mime	extracted from name Ornithomimus = "bird mimic"
-mys	rodent	Greek	μυς	mouse	including in Phoberomys
-saurus	reptile, dinosaur	Greek	σαυρος	lizard
-stega, -stege	stegocephalian	Greek	στεγη	roof	via their cranium roofs as fossils
-suchus, -champsus	crocodilian	Ancient Egyptian	σουχος, χαμψαι (pl.)	as quoted by ancient Greek authors as Egyptian words for "crocodile"
therium	usually mammal	Greek	θηριον	beast, animal
Names of bones
femur	thighbone	Latin	femur	thigh	Classical Latin genitive often "feminis"
fibula	(a leg bone)	Latin	fibula	brooch	tibia & fibula looked like a brooch and its pin
radius	(an arm bone)	Latin	radius	rod
tibia	shinbone	Latin	tibia	flute	via animal tibias modified into flutes
ulna	(an arm bone)	Latin	ulna	elbow, cubit measure

See also

• Binomial nomenclature
• Combining form
• Classical compound
• Greek and Latin roots in English
• Hybrid word
• Interlingua
• Internationalism (linguistics)
• Latinisation
• Lexicography
• List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions
• List of Latin abbreviations
• List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
• List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes
• List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents
• List of Latin words with English derivatives
• List of Greek words with English derivatives
• LSP dictionary
• Medical dictionary
• Medical terminology
• Systematic name
• Terminology

External links

• Glossary of Roots of Botanical Names
• Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
• List of Latin Words with Derivatives to English
• Some classical Greek and Latin roots
• Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998 entry on International Scientific Vocabulary