The origin of terms. Terminology as an instrument of knowledge in the 19th century

This thesis investigates the role of terminology, intended as the practice of naming, classifying, and defining specialised concepts, within the scientific progress in Europe during the first half of the 19th century (1800–1850). This is done through the analysis of terminological processes, intended as reflections on term formation by experts in various domains. These processes, which occurred in historical sources such as journal articles and volumes, were later conceptualised and formalised by terminology theory in the 20th and 21st centuries. The examples illustrate processes from various domains, such as meteorology, mineralogy, and architecture, and in English, French, German, and Latin. This thesis describes the reflections of the experts on the importance of terminology and discusses how the analysis of these sources can contribute to the description of these processes in contemporary terminology. This study illustrates the role of terminology within the 19th-century scientific progress in processes, such as multilingualism-influenced term formation, variation, and standardisation to classify cloud formations (Howard 1803a) and term translation in naming colours (Syme 1814). Discussions among experts on the naming of electrochemical entities highlight the social aspect of term formation (Faraday 1834a). Lastly, the historical sources show how naming guidelines in mineralogy addressed a necessity for standardisation to classify discoveries (Mohs 1820). On a methodological front, this study contributes to the development of diachronic studies in terminology and to the description of term formation, and it reveals promising intersections between terminology and the history of science to provide insights into the study of terminological processes over time. Ultimately, this study describes the 19th-century experts as terminologists ante litteram, and precursors of modern-day scholars. Historical studies are encouraged as a rather underexplored area of research in Terminology. This opens an array of possibilities for the description of terminological processes, which have not been investigated to date.