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In:Terminology throughout History: A discipline in the making
Edited by Kara Warburton and John Humbley
[Terminology and Lexicography Research and Practice 24] 2025
► pp. 26–47

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Chapter 1
Terminology in Antiquity

An illustration from Latin

 | Sorbonne Université
Published online: 23 May 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tlrp.24.01fru
Abstract
Latin offers a wide range of terminology types, from the most unambiguous, which are true nomenclatures (for institutions), to the most vague or approximate (for natural categories), with intermediate zones where different types cohabit in the same lexicon (as in Christian vocabulary). The degree of imprecision of the terminologies is related to the nature of the extralinguistic domain denoted and to its degree of remoteness from human beings, depending whether it is man-made or belongs to nature. The various types of terminologies documented in Latin are not specific to Latin; they are still attested nowadays in various languages. The terminologies of natural categories, however imprecise, have nevertheless been re-used since the 18th century in the binomial nomenclatures of modern sciences such as zoology created by the Swedish scientist Linnaeus.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Biunivocal terminologies
    • 2.1Institutions: Army, magistracy, religion
    • 2.2Social and kinship terminology
    • 2.3Measurement
  • 3.Terminologies and polysemy
  • 4.Mixed terminologies: Christian vocabulary
    • 4.1The same signifier, but a change of referential value
    • 4.2Creation of new lexemes within Latin
    • 4.3The arrival of new signifiers: Borrowings from Greek
    • 4.4Other uses of mixed terminologies
  • 5.Approximate terminologies: Natural categories
  • 6.Animals and plants of the first zone: Inherited terms
  • 7.Geological and agronomic vocabulary
    • 7.1A generic term
    • 7.2Specific terms
      • 7.2.1Clay, chalk, marl
      • 7.2.2Limestone
      • 7.2.3Sand
    • 7.3From Latin to French and English scientific terminology
    • 7.4Continuity in everyday vocabulary
    • 7.5The consequences of a lexical structure by inclusion
  • 8.The remote areas: Metaphorical denominations
  • 9.The furthest zone from humans: Astronomical vocabulary
  • 10.From earth to sea: Aquatic animals
    • 10.1The link between the earth and the sea
    • 10.2Formation of the denominations
      • 10.2.1Direct denominative process
      • 10.2.2Indirect denominative process
    • 10.3Starting point of the transfer
    • 10.4Denominative metaphor in Latin authors
    • 10.5The meanings of piscis
    • 10.6Borrowings from Greek
  • 11.Formation of modern scientific vocabularies
  • 12.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (38)
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