Quid significat nomen? (What's in a name?)

• Published in: International journal for parasitology Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 231 - 238
• Main Authors: Sangster, N.C, Pope, S.E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-03-2000
• Subjects: Animals; Classification; Nomenclature; Parasite; Parasites - classification; Terminology as Topic; Parasite; Nomenclature; Classification
• ISSN: 0020-7519; 1879-0135
• DOI: 10.1016/S0020-7519(00)00004-7

For the purposes of classification and effective communication among scientists, organisms must have unequivocal names. The binomial naming system of species was devised and popularised by Linnaeus in the 18th Century. His “Botanical Latin” is an artificial language first adopted for naming plants and is now internationally accepted as a naming system for both plants and animals. Genus and species names are based on Latin and Greek words which describe characteristics of the organism, as well as words from more modern sources, such as the name of the discoverer or place of discovery. Naming follows certain rules and all of the word endings are Latinised. The history of naming parasites is interesting and the molecular age may influence naming in the future.