Scientific terminology
Encyclopedia
While studying nature, scientists often encounter or create new material or immaterial objects and concepts and are compelled to name them. Most of those names are known only to professionals. However, due to popularization of science, they gradually become part of common languages. Several categories of scientific terminology
can be distinguished.
, etc.) and registered trademarks and brand names, such as Teflon. Trademarks and brand names are vast fields on their own and are not covered in this article.
and SQUID
, many names of the new devices and techniques are commonly used in full spelling, e.g., scanning tunneling microscope
, etc. Some devices like transistor
, magnetron, etc., have integrated into our life so much that their names are no longer considered terminology and are rather neologisms.
and SHRIMP
are acronyms distinguished from siesta, squid and shrimp by capitalization. However, there are pairs of scientific terminology and common words, which can only be distinguished by context. Representative examples come from particle physics
where certain properties of particles are called flavour
, color
, but have no relation to conventional flavor and color. Another famous example is frustration
used to describe ground state properties in condensed matter physics
, and especially in magnetic systems.
, nanotechnology
, etc. - are well known and understood, at least superficially, by most non-scientists.
, nuclear physics
and atomic physics
has resulted in discoveries of new elementary particles and atoms. Their names - quark
, gluon
, lepton
, graviton
, neutrino
, Higgs boson
, Mendelevium
, etc. - are traditionally given by those people who first discovered them and often include surnames of classical scientists.
Another group of physics terminology terms, exciton
, magnon
, phonon
, plasmon
, phason
, polaron
, roton
etc., refers to quasiparticles - quanta of corresponding excitations (spin, heat, plasma, polarization waves), which do not exist separately and were imagined by theoretists to consistently describe properties of solids and liquids.
Most relevant terminology can be found in the following Wikipedia articles and their links
(The word "plasmon" was well-known around the 1900s for a proprietary dried milk manufactured by the International Plasmon Company, which was added to a number of products to make Plasmon Oats, Plasmon Cocoa, and Plasmon Biscuits. Plasmon Biscuit
s were a popular snack used by Ernest Shakleton in his Antarctic Expedition of 1902.)
. Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and therefore all its letters should be capitalized. However, because of frequent use, this acronym became a neologism, i.e., it has integrated into English and most other languages. Consequently, laser is commonly written in small letters. It has even produced secondary acronyms such as LASIK
(Laser-ASsisted in Situ Keratomileusis). A related acronym and neologism maser
(Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is much less known. Nevertheless, it is commonly written in small letters. On the contrary, acronym SPASER
(Surface Plasmon
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is capitalized.
Many scientific acronyms or abbreviations reflect the artistic sense of their creators, e.g.,
etc. (see also List of astronomy acronyms).
, DNA
, RAM
), units of measurement
, and names (chemical, organizations, journals, computer programs, etc.) are omitted here. We would also abstract from medical and computer terms.
FROG
IBID
IMPATT LIDAR
laser
maser
MEMS
MISFET
MOSFET
NEMS
radar
SHRIMP
SODAR
sonar
SQUID
waldo
linac PHWR RHIC SCRAM
SSTAR
tokamak
VLHC
See also Nuclear reactor technology
Technical terminology
Technical terminology is the specialized vocabulary of any field, not just technical fields. The same is true of the synonyms technical terms, terms of art, shop talk and words of art, which do not necessarily refer to technology or art...
can be distinguished.
New concepts
Those are specific notions and terms, e.g.,- nanoarchitectonicsNanoarchitectonicsNanoarchitectonics is a scientific jargon term coined at the National Institute for Materials Science for one of its leading units, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics...
, - spintronicsSpintronicsSpintronics , also known as magnetoelectronics, is an emerging technology that exploits both the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-state devices.An additional effect occurs when a spin-polarized current is...
- a neologism meaning "spin transport electronics", - spinplasmonicsSpinplasmonicsSpinplasmonics is a field nanotechnology combining spintronics and plasmonics. The field was pioneered by Professor Abdulhakem Elezzabi at the University of Alberta in Canada. In a simple spinplasmonic device, light waves couple to electron spin states in a metallic structure...
, which are often not yet big enough to create a new field of science. Arguably, introducing many of those terms is unnecessary and can be considered as an attempt to produce something "new", if not scientifically then at least in words.
New materials
The increasing focus of science on technological applications results in extensive search for new materials having unusual or superior properties. Their names can be categorized into new substances (nanotubesCarbon nanotube
Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than for any other material...
, etc.) and registered trademarks and brand names, such as Teflon. Trademarks and brand names are vast fields on their own and are not covered in this article.
New techniques and devices
Unlike laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
and SQUID
SQUID
A SQUID is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely weak magnetic fields, based on superconducting loops containing Josephson junctions....
, many names of the new devices and techniques are commonly used in full spelling, e.g., scanning tunneling microscope
Scanning tunneling microscope
A scanning tunneling microscope is an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer , the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. For an STM, good resolution is considered to be 0.1 nm lateral resolution and...
, etc. Some devices like transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
, magnetron, etc., have integrated into our life so much that their names are no longer considered terminology and are rather neologisms.
Alternative meaning of common words
SIESTA, SQUIDSQUID
A SQUID is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely weak magnetic fields, based on superconducting loops containing Josephson junctions....
and SHRIMP
SHRIMP
The sensitive high resolution ion microprobe is a large-diameter, double-focusing secondary ion mass spectrometer sector instrument produced by Australian Scientific Instruments in Canberra, Australia...
are acronyms distinguished from siesta, squid and shrimp by capitalization. However, there are pairs of scientific terminology and common words, which can only be distinguished by context. Representative examples come from particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
where certain properties of particles are called flavour
Flavour (particle physics)
In particle physics, flavour or flavor is a quantum number of elementary particles. In quantum chromodynamics, flavour is a global symmetry...
, color
Color charge
In particle physics, color charge is a property of quarks and gluons that is related to the particles' strong interactions in the theory of quantum chromodynamics . Color charge has analogies with the notion of electric charge of particles, but because of the mathematical complications of QCD,...
, but have no relation to conventional flavor and color. Another famous example is frustration
Geometrical frustration
In condensed matter physics, the term geometrical frustration means a phenomenon in which the geometrical properties of the crystal lattice or the presence of conflicting atomic forces forbid simultaneous minimization of the interaction energies acting at a given site.This may lead to highly...
used to describe ground state properties in condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...
, and especially in magnetic systems.
Composite words
Recent scientific activity often creates interdisciplinary fields, for which new names, classified into portmanteau words or syllabic abbreviations, are often created by combining two or more words, sometimes with extra prefixes and suffixes. Examples of those - biotechnologyBiotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, etc. - are well known and understood, at least superficially, by most non-scientists.
Elementary particles, quasiparticles and chemical elements
Progress of particle physicsParticle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and atomic physics
Atomic physics
Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and...
has resulted in discoveries of new elementary particles and atoms. Their names - quark
Quark
A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never directly...
, gluon
Gluon
Gluons are elementary particles which act as the exchange particles for the color force between quarks, analogous to the exchange of photons in the electromagnetic force between two charged particles....
, lepton
Lepton
A lepton is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. The best known of all leptons is the electron which governs nearly all of chemistry as it is found in atoms and is directly tied to all chemical properties. Two main classes of leptons exist: charged leptons , and neutral...
, graviton
Graviton
In physics, the graviton is a hypothetical elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitation in the framework of quantum field theory. If it exists, the graviton must be massless and must have a spin of 2...
, neutrino
Neutrino
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
, Higgs boson
Higgs boson
The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated as a means of resolving inconsistencies in the Standard Model...
, Mendelevium
Mendelevium
Mendelevium is a synthetic element with the symbol Md and the atomic number 101. A metallic radioactive transuranic element in the actinide series, mendelevium is usually synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles. It was named after Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, who created the...
, etc. - are traditionally given by those people who first discovered them and often include surnames of classical scientists.
Another group of physics terminology terms, exciton
Exciton
An exciton is a bound state of an electron and hole which are attracted to each other by the electrostatic Coulomb force. It is an electrically neutral quasiparticle that exists in insulators, semiconductors and some liquids...
, magnon
Magnon
A magnon is a collective excitation of the electrons' spin structure in a crystal lattice. In contrast, a phonon is a collective excitation of the crystal lattice atoms or ions. In the equivalent wave picture of quantum mechanics, a magnon can be viewed as a quantized spin wave. As a...
, phonon
Phonon
In physics, a phonon is a collective excitation in a periodic, elastic arrangement of atoms or molecules in condensed matter, such as solids and some liquids...
, plasmon
Plasmon
In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. The plasmon is a quasiparticle resulting from the quantization of plasma oscillations just as photons and phonons are quantizations of light and mechanical vibrations, respectively...
, phason
Phason
Phason is a quasiparticle existing in quasicrystals due to their specific, quasiperiodic lattice structure. Similar to phonon, phason is associated with atomic motion. However, whereas phonons are related to translation of atoms, phasons are associated with atomic rearrangements...
, polaron
Polaron
A polaron is a quasiparticle composed of a charge and its accompanying polarization field. A slow moving electron in a dielectric crystal, interacting with lattice ions through long-range forces will permanently be surrounded by a region of lattice polarization and deformation caused by the moving...
, roton
Roton
A roton is an elementary excitation, or quasiparticle, in superfluid Helium-4. The dispersion relation of elementary excitations in this superfluid shows a linear increase from the origin, but exhibits first a maximum and then a minimum in energy as the momentum increases...
etc., refers to quasiparticles - quanta of corresponding excitations (spin, heat, plasma, polarization waves), which do not exist separately and were imagined by theoretists to consistently describe properties of solids and liquids.
Most relevant terminology can be found in the following Wikipedia articles and their links
- Discoveries of the chemical elementsDiscoveries of the chemical elementsThe discovery of the elements known to exist today is presented here in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately defined.Given is each element's name,...
- Elementary particleElementary particleIn particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a particle not known to have substructure; that is, it is not known to be made up of smaller particles. If an elementary particle truly has no substructure, then it is one of the basic building blocks of the universe from which...
- QuasiparticleQuasiparticleIn physics, quasiparticles are emergent phenomena that occur when a microscopically complicated system such as a solid behaves as if it contained different weakly interacting particles in free space...
- List of quasiparticles
- Subatomic particleSubatomic particleIn physics or chemistry, subatomic particles are the smaller particles composing nucleons and atoms. There are two types of subatomic particles: elementary particles, which are not made of other particles, and composite particles...
(The word "plasmon" was well-known around the 1900s for a proprietary dried milk manufactured by the International Plasmon Company, which was added to a number of products to make Plasmon Oats, Plasmon Cocoa, and Plasmon Biscuits. Plasmon Biscuit
Plasmon biscuit
Plasmon biscuits are a biscuit containing plasmon, a proprietary dried milk. The manufacturers claimed that 3 pounds of plasmon made 100 pints of milk...
s were a popular snack used by Ernest Shakleton in his Antarctic Expedition of 1902.)
Acronyms
A good example is word laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
. Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and therefore all its letters should be capitalized. However, because of frequent use, this acronym became a neologism, i.e., it has integrated into English and most other languages. Consequently, laser is commonly written in small letters. It has even produced secondary acronyms such as LASIK
LASIK
LASIK or Lasik , commonly referred to simply as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism...
(Laser-ASsisted in Situ Keratomileusis). A related acronym and neologism maser
Maser
A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...
(Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is much less known. Nevertheless, it is commonly written in small letters. On the contrary, acronym SPASER
Spaser
SPASER is an acronym for "surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The phenomenon was first described by Bergman and Stockman in 2003 The first such device was announced in August 2009, a 44-nanometer-diameter nanoparticle with a gold core surrounded by a dyed silica...
(Surface Plasmon
Surface plasmon
Surface plasmons , are coherent electron oscillations that exist at the interface between any two materials where the real part of the dielectric function changes sign across the interface...
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is capitalized.
Many scientific acronyms or abbreviations reflect the artistic sense of their creators, e.g.,
- AMANDA - Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array, a neutrino telescope
- BLAST - Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope
- COMICS - COoled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer
- FROGFrequency-resolved optical gatingIn optics, frequency-resolved optical gating is a derivative of autocorrelation, but is far superior in its ability to measure ultrafast optical pulse shapes...
- Frequency-resolved optical gating - MARVEL - Multi-object Apache Point Observatory Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey, a NASA-funded project to search for exoplanetsExtrasolar planetAn extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
- METATOYMETATOYA METATOY is a sheet, formed by a two-dimensional array of small, telescopic optical components, that switches the path of transmitted light rays...
- METAmaTerial fOr raYs - a material that changes the direction of transmitted light rays - PLANET - Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork, a program to search for microlensing events
- SCREAM - Single Crystal Reactive Etch And Metallization, a process used in making some microelectromechanical systems (MEMSMicroelectromechanical systemsMicroelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
) - SHRIMPSHRIMPThe sensitive high resolution ion microprobe is a large-diameter, double-focusing secondary ion mass spectrometer sector instrument produced by Australian Scientific Instruments in Canberra, Australia...
- Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe - SIESTASIESTA (computer program)SIESTA is an original method and a software implementation for performing electronic structure calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of molecules and solids....
- Spanish Initiative for Electronic Simulations with Thousands of Atoms (siestaSiestaA siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm....
= afternoon nap in Spanish) - SPIDERSpectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstructionIn ultrafast optics, spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction is an ultrashort pulse measurement technique.-The basics:...
- Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric-field Reconstruction - SQUIDSQUIDA SQUID is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely weak magnetic fields, based on superconducting loops containing Josephson junctions....
- Superconducting QUantum Interference Device,
etc. (see also List of astronomy acronyms).
Abbreviations and acronyms described in Wikipedia articles
The range of abbreviations and acronyms is enormous. Therefore, 2-3 letter acronyms (e.g. LEDLEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
, DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
), units of measurement
Units of measurement
A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of...
, and names (chemical, organizations, journals, computer programs, etc.) are omitted here. We would also abstract from medical and computer terms.
- List of materials analysis methods - a comprehensive list of Wikipedia articles, which does not overlap with this one
- Laser acronymsLaser acronymsHere, is a list of acronyms used in laser physics, applications and technology.-A:*AOM – acousto-optic modulator*APD – avalanche photodiode*APM – additive-pulse mode locking*ASE – amplified spontaneous emission*ATD - above threshold dissociation...
Techniques
EBIDElectron beam induced deposition
Electron beam-induced deposition is a process of decomposing gaseous molecules by electron beam leading to deposition of non-volatile fragments onto a nearby substrate...
FROG
Frequency-resolved optical gating
In optics, frequency-resolved optical gating is a derivative of autocorrelation, but is far superior in its ability to measure ultrafast optical pulse shapes...
IBID
Devices
CAMAC CMOSCMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
IMPATT LIDAR
LIDAR
LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a laser...
laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
maser
Maser
A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...
MEMS
Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
MISFET
MISFET
A MISFET is a metal–insulator–semiconductor field-effect transistor.MISFET is a more general term than MOSFET. All MOSFETs are MISFETs, but not all MISFETs are MOSFETs. The insulator in a MISFET is a dielectric which can be silicon oxide , but other materials can also be employed...
MOSFET
MOSFET
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925...
NEMS
Nanoelectromechanical systems
Nanoelectromechanical systems are devices integrating electrical and mechanical functionality on the nanoscale. NEMS form the logical next miniaturization step from so-called microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS devices...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
SHRIMP
SHRIMP
The sensitive high resolution ion microprobe is a large-diameter, double-focusing secondary ion mass spectrometer sector instrument produced by Australian Scientific Instruments in Canberra, Australia...
SODAR
SODAR
SODAR , also written as sodar, is a meteorological instrument used as a wind profiler to measure the scattering of sound waves by atmospheric turbulence...
sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
SQUID
SQUID
A SQUID is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely weak magnetic fields, based on superconducting loops containing Josephson junctions....
waldo
Waldo
Waldo is a short story by Robert A. Heinlein originally published in Astounding Magazine in August 1942 under the pseudonym Anson MacDonald. It is available in the book Waldo & Magic, Inc., as well as other collections...
Large facilities
CAESARClean And Environmentally Safe Advanced Reactor
The Clean And Environmentally Safe Advanced Reactor is a nuclear reactor concept that uses steam as a moderator. Steam's density can be controlled very finely so, according to its developer Dr...
linac PHWR RHIC SCRAM
Scram
A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor – though the term has been extended to cover shutdowns of other complex operations, such as server farms and even large model railroads...
SSTAR
SSTAR
SSTAR is an acronym for the "small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor" - being primarily researched and developed in the USA by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is designed as a fast breeder nuclear reactor that is passively safe...
tokamak
Tokamak
A tokamak is a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus . Achieving a stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the torus in a helical shape...
VLHC
See also Nuclear reactor technology
See also
- Abbreviations
- Acronym
- Anacronym
- Apronym
- BackronymBackronymA backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
- International scientific vocabularyInternational Scientific VocabularyInternational scientific vocabulary comprises scientific and specialized words whose language of origin may or may not be certain, but which are in current use in several modern languages. The name "International Scientific Vocabulary" was first used by Philip Gove in Webster’s Third New...
- Neologism
- Mathematical jargonMathematical jargonThe language of mathematics has a vast vocabulary of specialist and technical terms. It also has a certain amount of jargon: commonly used phrases which are part of the culture of mathematics, rather than of the subject. Jargon often appears in lectures, and sometimes in print, as informal...
- Portmanteau
- RetronymRetronymA retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
- JargonJargonJargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
External links
- List of Common Acronyms and Abbreviations Encountered in the CERN Environment
- Abbreviations.com - a human edited database of acronyms and abbreviations
- Acronym Finder - a human edited database of acronyms and abbreviations (over 550,000 entries)
- All Acronyms - collection of acronyms and abbreviations (more than 600,000 definitions)
- Acronym Database - a human edited database of user submitted acronyms and abbreviations
- WDISF - What Does It Stand For is a human edited database of acronyms