terminology

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌtɜː.məˈnɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/ (UK); /ˌtɝ.məˈnɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, /ˌtɝ.məˈnɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Terminologie,^[2][3][4] a hybrid coined by Christian Gottfried Schütz, professor at Jena,^[4] from Medieval Latin terminus (“word, expression”) and the Greek-derived element -logie “study of”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The system of terms used in a science or subject; originally also the theory of the proper use of terms (1770 in Etymonline; 1801 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^[4][7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Etymologically the word means the study of terms, but in use it almost always means the terms themselves.^[7] William Whewell noted in 1847 that some writers preferred glossology to avoid a word made of Latin and Greek parts.^[4] Winston Churchill coined the euphemism terminological inexactitude for a lie.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 1770 – Etymonline's date.^[4]
• 1801 – the system of terms of a science.^[7][3][5]
• 1861 – terminological.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The technical or special terms used in a particular field, science or art; nomenclature.
2. The study of terms and their use.

Word family

• terminological
• terminologically
• terminologist

Related words

• argot
• jargon
• term
• terminus
• nomenclature

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press