An Alphabet of Ages of Scientific Terms

JF Ptak Science Books    Quick Post                                                                

It is interesting to think about the newness of old things, particularly English words that we have in use every day.  In this case I'm referring to words in the sciences--and not necessarily the words coming in the 20th century following the explosion of modernity beginning in 1895.  It is surprising sometimes to realize the relative newness of some terms, like, for example, "scientist". The word "science" is very old and very old in English, but the word "scientist" is coined only in 1833. It is surprising to think of the modernity of some of the words when by their constant use they seem as though they must be ancient, but of course are not so.

Here's a quick lising of some interesting candidates, everyday words with a not-very-old lineage, their dates taken from first-usages identified by the Oxford English Dictionary:

Altimeter, 1847; Ampere, 1861; Aphasia, 1867;

Bacterium, 1847; Biology, 1802;

Cambrian , 1836; Centigrade, 1812; Chlorophyll, 1810; Chromosome, 1890; Claustrophobia, 1879; Cosmology, 1730; Cretacious, 1832;

Diatom, 1854;

Electron, 1891; Embryology; 1859; Ethnology, 1842;

Gastritis, 1806; Gynaecology, 1847;

Histology, 1847;

Joule, 1882; Jurassic, 1833;

Kleptomania, 1830;

Morphology, 1830;

Ohm, 1861;

Palaeobotany, 1872; Palaeography, 1822; Palaeolithic, 1865; Palaeontology, 1838; Petrology, 1811; Pilocene, 1833;

Scientist, 1833; Symbiosis, 1877; Synthesis, 1804;

Taxonomy, 1828; Triassic , 1841;

Voltmeter, 1882;

Watt, 1882.