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definitions

nomenclature

[noh-muh n-kley-cher, noh-men-kluh-cher, -choo r]
See more synonyms for nomenclature on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art, by an individual or community, etc.
  2. the names or terms comprising a set or system.

Origin of nomenclature

First recorded in 1600–10, nomenclature is from the Latin word nōmenclātūra a calling by name, list of names. See nomenclator, -ure
Related formsno·men·cla·tur·al, no·men·cla·to·ri·al [noh-muh n-kluh-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-] /ˌnoʊ mən kləˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, no·men·cla·tive [noh-muh n-kley-tiv] /ˈnoʊ mənˌkleɪ tɪv/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for nomenclature

classification, glossary, locution, terminology, phraseology, codification, taxonomy

Examples from the Web for nomenclature

Contemporary Examples of nomenclature

Historical Examples of nomenclature

  • The nomenclature of Hegel has been made by himself out of the language of common life.

    Sophist

    Plato

  • "It was more a change of nomenclature," replied his dragoman.

    Another Sheaf

    John Galsworthy

  • But I do not choose to assume this identity in my nomenclature.

  • Let us now compare the nomenclature of the pre-Persian and Periclean temples.

  • Its efforts at "national" nomenclature were fortunately in most cases abortive.

    The Story of Rouen

    Sir Theodore Andrea Cook

British Dictionary definitions for nomenclature

nomenclature

noun
  1. the terminology used in a particular science, art, activity, etc

Word Origin for nomenclature

C17: from Latin nōmenclātūra list of names; see nomenclator
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for nomenclature
n.

c.1600, "a name," from Middle French nomenclature (16c.), from Latin nomenclatura "calling of names," from nomenclator "namer," from nomen "name" (see name (n.)) + calator "caller, crier," from calare "call out" (see claim (v.)).

Nomenclator in Rome was the title of a steward whose job was to announce visitors, and also of a prompter who helped a stumping politician recall names and pet causes of his constituents. Meaning "list or catalogue of names" first attested 1630s; that of "system of naming" is from 1660s; sense of "terminology of a science" is from 1789.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nomenclature in Medicine

nomenclature

[nō′mən-klā′chər, nō-mĕn′klə-]
n.
  1. A system of names used in a science, as of anatomical structures or biological organisms.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.