Born of the linguistic fascination of a noted paleontologist, Composition of Scientific Words includes a brief introduction to the history and elementary structure of English, Greek, and Latin, followed by a guide for the formulation of technical terms. The main selection, the lexicon, is an alphabetical list of key words. It gives their synonyms and cognates in English, Latin, and Greek, as well as occasional additions from among thirty-eight other languages. This section is a storehouse of fact and lore on the derivation of both everyday and technical terms. Numerous cross-references make the book fully accessible. “A superb tool for composing scientific names . . . and a fascinating work for anyone interested in words.”—Taxon

“The breadth of its coverage will appeal to anyone with a curiosity about the technical words that form such an important part of our modern vocabulary.”—Journal of Paleontology