Nomenclature

Nomenclature is a system of naming and categorizing objects in a given category.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Linnaeus popularised one of the best-known examples: he used binary (in two parts) names (colloquially: binomial nomenclature system) to name the natural world, mineral, vegetable and animal. The names he coined for the last two categories were the start of present day botanical and zoological nomenclature, codified in the ICBN and ICZN. Other Codes are derived from these.

Related Topics:
Linnaeus - Binomial nomenclature - Botanical

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The combination of a genus name and a species descriptor serves to uniquely name (i.e. label) each species of organism. To use a downtrodden example, humankind is uniquely named by the binomial Homo sapiens. No other species of animal can have this binomial. In this way, every species is given a unique and stable name, accepted worldwide. This is a huge advantage over common names that are often neither unique nor consistent from place to place and language to language.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~