International Scientific Vocabulary - Other Differences

Other Differences

Another difference between scientific terms and classical Latin and Greek is that many compounded scientific terms do not elide the inflection vowel at the end of a root before another root or prefix that starts with a vowel, e.g. gastroenteritis; but elision happens in gastrectomy (not gastroectomy).

See Methanol#History for a word formed with Greek language errors: wrong Greek word used for the French word bois = "wood"; wrong Greek word combining order influenced by French usage; and an apparent suffix extracted and used to form other words.

The Greek word τέρας (τέρατο-) = "monster" is usually used to mean "monster (abnormal)" (e.g. teratology, teratogen), but some biological names use it to mean "monster (enormous)" (e.g. the extinct animals Teratornis (a condor with a 12-foot wingspan) and Terataspis (a trilobite 2 feet long)).

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