Influences from Latin on Chemical Terminology

• Peter Loyson ^[1]
  1. [1] Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

     Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

     Nelson Mandela Bay, Sudáfrica

     
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 87, Nº 12 (December), 2010, págs. 1303-1307
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article describes the use of Latin-derived words and terms used in chemistry, and explores the meaning of these words, so as to lead to a better understanding of these words, so commonly used in the teaching of chemistry. As the article shows, there are many such words, and with some elementary knowledge, a greater meaning is given to these words. The article starts with exploring the reasons why Latin has left its mark on chemical terminology and then looks at some Latin prefixes and suffixes, commonly used in chemistry, leading to easy-to-understand Latin-derived words. The influence of Latin on naming chemical elements is then briefly discussed, after which the naming of classes and types of chemical compounds is described. Latin-derived terms used in inorganic, physical, analytical, and organic chemistry are then further explored and explained.