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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. 66–82

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Chapter 3
Terminology in the 17th and 18th centuries

 | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Published online: 23 May 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tlrp.24.03zan
Abstract
What is nowadays referred to with the word terminology owes much to the European tradition of lexicographical coding and linguistic-scientific investigation that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries. Such research was carried out through the ‘term’ and ‘nomenclature’ paradigm, along with the neological and communicative requirements of sciences, arts, and crafts. This chapter illustrates the depth of the investigation which highlighted the characteristics of terminology as well as its linguistic and cultural value and aimed to attain communicative mediation between language and specialised knowledge throughout these centuries.
Advancements in encyclopaedism and the birth of new scientific languages triggered a conceptual shift from nomenclature to terminology: therefore, the spheres of knowledge where the concept of terminology was conceived will be explored. This interdisciplinary space where language and technical and scientific knowledge were at play, where new concepts took shape and opportunities for their communication grew, is examined here with a focus on the following areas: the problems surrounding nomen­clature and the classification of scientific and technical lexicons; the production of technical and specialised dictionaries during the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century; the debate on terminology in scientific works of the time; and the contribution of the new chemistry of Lavoisier and Guyton de Morveau to the development of terminology systematisation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.From nomenclature to terminology in Italy and France
  • 3.Descriptive methods in dictionaries and encyclopaedias
  • 4.Terminology in 18th century scientific and encyclopaedic works
  • 5.From alchemy to the chemistry of Lavoisier and Guyton de Morveau: The creation of a terminology
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (61)
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