Discovering the ancient language roots of zoological nomenclature

Abstract

Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae, which introduced the binominal nomenclature, is an unparalleled scientific achievement. Despite its global use over the past four centuries, the language roots of zoological taxa remain unknown. The lack of a standardized method for studying the etymology of scientific terms hinders a thorough understanding on the origin of zoological nomenclature. To address these gaps an interdisciplinary method bridging zoology, linguistics, and chronology of ancient texts has been established. All genera names in echinoderms, one of the most speciose animal phyla, were examined. Evidence highlights the leading contribution of the Greek language in zoological nomenclature. For the first time it is shown that zoological nomenclature is rooted in the 2nd millennium BC (Greek Linear B script) with one third of the elements being sourced in Ilias (the Iliad) and Odyssea (the Odyssey), the emblematic Greek epic poems dated in the 1st millennium BC. The study elucidates for first time the Greek 3400-year-old language roots of zoological nomenclature. Most language elements are sourced in poetic, philosophical, historic, and economic rather than biological texts unravelling the dispersal of language elements across remote human-knowledge fields for at least 3400 years. The established method is transferable serving much-needed interdisciplinary research on the language roots and evolution of modern scientific terminology.