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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. 83–104

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Chapter 4
Exploring terminological processes in the 19th century

 | University of Bologna
Published online: 23 May 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tlrp.24.04rag
Abstract
This chapter describes terminological processes within the development of 19th century scientific knowledge. Taking the classification of cloud forms as an example, three terminological processes are analysed as they apply to the formation of 19th century scientific language i.e., term formation, term variation, and standardisation. These processes are presented through original quotations from primary sources and examined from the perspective of modern terminology theory. The formation of the nomenclature of clouds is set in the broader historical context of the 19th century construction of scientific disciplines and knowledge systematisation. The contribution of these processes to the progress of knowledge is discussed, as is the relevance of a diachronic perspective in the study of terminology.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A century of naming and classifying
  • 3.Cloud classification in the 19th century
    • 3.1Cloud terms at the beginning of the 19th century
      • 3.1.1Term formation and neology
      • 3.1.2The first cloud nomenclatures
    • 3.2The development of cloud nomenclatures
      • 3.2.1Alternative naming proposals
      • 3.2.2Alternative nomenclatures and translations
    • 3.3The role of standardisation
      • 3.3.1The standardisation process
      • 3.3.2The International Cloud Atlas
  • 4.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (84)
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