Abstract
IT was Dr. Samuel Johnson who emphasized our indebtedness to the compilers of dictionaries when he wrote, “Every other author may aspire to praise, the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach”. Scientific men will indeed be grateful to Prof, de Vries for having brought together some half a million stock words which are representative of German scientific language. No attempt has been made to include all the names of animals, plants, chemical compounds, etc., since each subject would need a dictionary of its own. But since research in the various departments of science now extends into complicated inter-departmental problems, the author has included terms which enter into the chemical, physical and biological sciences. Further selection has made use of the fact that the compounding of words is such a characteristic feature of the German language, only sufficient basic information being included to permit of the building-up of composite words. The book is strongly and attractively bound, but still remains a very convenient size for purposes of frequent reference.
German-English Science Dictionary
For Students in the Agricultural, Biological and Physical Sciences. By Prof. Louis de Vries., with the collaboration of Members of the Graduate Faculty. Pp. x + 473. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1939.) 18s. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
H., T. Miscellany. Nature 144, 900 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144900b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144900b0