the nomenclature of salts by proposing related names for salts derived from the
same acid. For example, he suggested that the name “vitriol” should be reserved for
salts of sulphuric acid. Copper(II) sulphate and iron(II) sulphate were frequently
referred to as vitriols, a word derived from Latin vitrum (= glass) referring to the
glassy appearance of the crystals. There was, however, some inconstancy. For
example, Lémery had used the name Vitriol of the Moon for silver nitrate [3]. Now
Macquer proposed calling all sulphates “vitriol de…” followed by the name of the
metal or earth. Similarly, he proposed nitre or sel nitreux for nitrates, sel marin or
sel for chlorides, sel tartreux or tartre soluble for tartrates, sel acéteux for acetates,
sel phosphorique for phosphates and sel de borax or borax for borates. He did not
attempt to include the sodium and potassium salts in this system, and for the
remainder of his book, he did not use the nomenclature he had devised. It was,
however, picked up by Antoine Baumé.
26.2 The Reform of Nomenclature in Botany
Botanists and zoologists experienced a similar problem as the chemists, but some
two centuries earlier, with a rocketing number of new species being described each
year as new continents were explored. Still, there was no common system for
deriving names for them.
A step in the right direction was taken in 1623, when Gaspard Bauhin
(1560–1624) published his Pinax Theatri Botanici. Bauhin introduced the use of
descriptive phrases which, although they were not strictly names, gave botanists a
way to refer to plants in a standardised way. Unfortunately, the phrases were long
and cumbersome to use. Similar phrases would latter appear in chemical works;
Cronstedt used them in his Försök til mineralogie in 1758, where he, for instance,
described silver chloride with the phrase Acidum Salis Communis Argento
Saturatum (acid of common salt saturated with silver) [4, 5]. Macquer also used
descriptive phrases, especially to describe alkali salts, i.e. sel acéteux à bas d’alkali
marin (acetic salt with a base of marine alkali), for sodium acetate [6].
Order was finally established in the botanical chaos by Carl Linnaeus. The
binomial nomenclature he introduced is still used today. Linnaeus’ nomenclature
was developed gradually over a period of several years. In 1735, he published his
Systema Naturae where he introduced his sexual system of classification. In Critica
Botanica, published in 1737, he set out the goal for a new nomenclature: all species
of the same genus should have a common generic name; the name should be in
Latin or Greek. Linnaeus initially referred to a species by giving the generic name
followed by a descriptive phrase to distinguish the species from other species of that
genus. Although shorter than those of Bauhin, the phrases could still in the worst
cases consist of dozens of words. His solution to this problem was to replace the
phrase with a reference to his previous work [7]. His next brilliant step was to
introduce trivial names which were easier to remember than the literature reference.
He now ended up with two-word names, the first defining the genus and the second
356
26 Bergman’s Contribution to Chemical Nomenclature
same acid. For example, he suggested that the name “vitriol” should be reserved for
salts of sulphuric acid. Copper(II) sulphate and iron(II) sulphate were frequently
referred to as vitriols, a word derived from Latin vitrum (= glass) referring to the
glassy appearance of the crystals. There was, however, some inconstancy. For
example, Lémery had used the name Vitriol of the Moon for silver nitrate [3]. Now
Macquer proposed calling all sulphates “vitriol de…” followed by the name of the
metal or earth. Similarly, he proposed nitre or sel nitreux for nitrates, sel marin or
sel for chlorides, sel tartreux or tartre soluble for tartrates, sel acéteux for acetates,
sel phosphorique for phosphates and sel de borax or borax for borates. He did not
attempt to include the sodium and potassium salts in this system, and for the
remainder of his book, he did not use the nomenclature he had devised. It was,
however, picked up by Antoine Baumé.
26.2 The Reform of Nomenclature in Botany
Botanists and zoologists experienced a similar problem as the chemists, but some
two centuries earlier, with a rocketing number of new species being described each
year as new continents were explored. Still, there was no common system for
deriving names for them.
A step in the right direction was taken in 1623, when Gaspard Bauhin
(1560–1624) published his Pinax Theatri Botanici. Bauhin introduced the use of
descriptive phrases which, although they were not strictly names, gave botanists a
way to refer to plants in a standardised way. Unfortunately, the phrases were long
and cumbersome to use. Similar phrases would latter appear in chemical works;
Cronstedt used them in his Försök til mineralogie in 1758, where he, for instance,
described silver chloride with the phrase Acidum Salis Communis Argento
Saturatum (acid of common salt saturated with silver) [4, 5]. Macquer also used
descriptive phrases, especially to describe alkali salts, i.e. sel acéteux à bas d’alkali
marin (acetic salt with a base of marine alkali), for sodium acetate [6].
Order was finally established in the botanical chaos by Carl Linnaeus. The
binomial nomenclature he introduced is still used today. Linnaeus’ nomenclature
was developed gradually over a period of several years. In 1735, he published his
Systema Naturae where he introduced his sexual system of classification. In Critica
Botanica, published in 1737, he set out the goal for a new nomenclature: all species
of the same genus should have a common generic name; the name should be in
Latin or Greek. Linnaeus initially referred to a species by giving the generic name
followed by a descriptive phrase to distinguish the species from other species of that
genus. Although shorter than those of Bauhin, the phrases could still in the worst
cases consist of dozens of words. His solution to this problem was to replace the
phrase with a reference to his previous work [7]. His next brilliant step was to
introduce trivial names which were easier to remember than the literature reference.
He now ended up with two-word names, the first defining the genus and the second
356
26 Bergman’s Contribution to Chemical Nomenclature