Basic Dictionary of Science

THE BASIC DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE
EDITED IN BASIC ENGLISH
by
E. C. GRAHAM, PhD

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK

First published 1965 by Evans Brothers Limited, London
First American edition 1966
(available in online bookstores)

Jacket :
Easily understandable and up-to-date definitions of more than twenty-five thousand terms used in all branches of modern science and technology.

The Basic Dictionary of Science reveals the language of science to the general reader and student, explaining the most recent terms and phrases with precise definitions and exceptional clarity. The words defined are taken from all branches of science, including biology, chemistry, physics, geology, medicine, psychology, astronomy, and anthropology. There are words selected from important technical fields such as engineering, aeronautics, and metallurgy, as well as a smaller group of words to special to science, but nevertheless essential to its structure.

The particular advantage of this up-to-date dictionary is that it is remarkably easy to use because every definition of the 25,000 words and word groups has been written in the 850 words of the Basic English word list, which represents the key ideas we express with our language. Thorough, practical, and simple, this unique dictionary includes 20 pages of reference aids such as periodic tables, conversion factors, and measurable guides.

Dr. E. C. Graham has worked with a group of other scholars and with the Basic English Foundation and the Orthological Institute in preparing this volume over the past fifteen years.

ABOUT HIS BOOK

⁴

ELSIE C. GRAHAM

^1. The word-list of Basic English is a selection of 850 English words chiefly representative of those key ideas into which more complex ones may be broken down, and it is used with the addition of such words as are common to all the important languages at the present-day -- among them a number of science words and the names of the chief sciences themselves.
^2. A more detailed view of the fields covered may be got from the list of Science Guides on p. xiii.
^3. Then Editor of Chemical Products and The Chemical News.
^4. Mr. Manners was at that time Chief Press Officer for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. vii

RULES AND DIRECTIONS

1 . . . . 3 pages . . .
12 . SHORT FORMS etc. A guide to the signs used in Chemistry, and guides to short forms for British and European weights and measures, have been put at the end of the book, together with a number of other lists to do with different sciences, which will be of great help to any user of the Dictionary (see pp 548-68).
. . .
Then there are two small Latin words of great value in putting things shortly :

non-

non-conducting,

per

Last, there is he use of 'th' after numbers higher than three when naming order : 4th, 20th, etc.
13 SCIENCE GUIDES.
. . . 1 page . . .
14. THE REGULAR ENDINGS

-able, a.	Able to be acted on int he given way, able to undergo the given process : autoxidizable, filterable.
-aceous, a.	Of, to do with, like, having, made up of : acanthaceous, bulbaceous, scoriaceous, setaceous.
. . . 2 pages . . .
In addition to these, there are the endings forming part of the Basic system, which are freely used:
-ed, a.	1. Having under gone the act or process names;
	carbonized, decomposed, staggered, sensitized.
	2. Having, marked by: winged.
-er, or, nn.	Person doing or instrument or apparatus used for doing, what is named:
	diluter, discharge, photographer, regulator.
-ing, 1. a.	In the given act or condition, or used for the purpose of effecting or producing it:
	refracting, screening.
-ing, 2. n.	The act or fact of, or thing, produced by or used for, doing the given act:
	soldering, lagging.
-ly, adv.	In the given way, or form the point of view of, in relation to, a given thing:
	abruptly, biologically, externally, practically, symmetrically.

xvi

A . . . Z

A, Sign for ARGON
A or Å = ANGSTROM UNIT(S).
A = ABSOLUTE (of TEMPERATURE).
a See ALPHA.
a- Not, not having, the opposite of : a'carpellous, a'petalous, a'septate, a'synchronous, a'typical, aa. 1 . . . 547

[Appendixes]
COMMON SHORT FORMS in Chemistry, Physics, etc.
THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS -- Atomic Weights and Numbers
THE GREEK LETTERS with THEIR ENGLISH PARALLELS
ROMAN NUMBERS
PERIODIC TABLE of ELEMENTS
HOMOLOGOUS SERIES of ORGANIC CHAIN COMPOUND
GEOLOGICAL TIME-TABLE
THE CHIEF GROUPS in the CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS
THE CHIEF GROUPS in the THE CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS
BRITISH WEIGHTS and MEASURES
THE METRIC SYSTEM
CONVERSION FACTORS 568

Provided and Thanks to ZbEnglish.net

THE BASIC DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE EDITED IN BASIC ENGLISHby E. C. GRAHAM, PhD

ABOUT HIS BOOK

RULES AND DIRECTIONS

A . . . Z

THE BASIC DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE
EDITED IN BASIC ENGLISH
by
E. C. GRAHAM, PhD