trivial name

American  

[triv-ee-uhl naym] / ˈtrɪv i əl ˌneɪm /

noun

• trivial names
  plural

1. the common name used in everyday language to refer to an organism or to a chemical element or compound, such as dog for Canis familiaris or vinegar for acetic acid.

2. Biology. specific epithet.

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trivial name Scientific  

/ trĭv′ē-əl /

1. A common or vernacular name as distinguished from a scientific name, as chimpanzee for Pan troglodytes.

2. A common, historic, or convenient name for a substance. The trivial name is often derived from the source in which the substance was discovered. It is not systematic and is not used in modern official nomenclature. Sucrose is the trivial name for β - D -fructofuranosyl- α - D -glucopyranoside.

3. Compare chemical name

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trivial names
  plural

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trivial name

Speaking on his first visit to Wales since his appointment, he said he had been in the post ten days and would not submit to "trivial" name tests.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2015

Others bark like 'toy-dogs,' while still other kinds utter a whistling noise, from which one species derives its trivial name of 'whistler' among the traders, and is the 'siffleur' of the Canadian voyageurs.

From Popular Adventure Tales by Mayne Reid

A leaf, having its foot-stalk inserted into the disk or middle part of it, or near it, is called by Linnæus, peltatum, hence the Latin trivial name of this plant.

From The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1 Or, Flower-Garden Displayed by William Curtis

It is black, but with a buff snout, and buff rings round the eyes, which give it that appearance whence it derives its trivial name.

From Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys by William Harvey

This is the earliest trivial name now associated with Osteocephalus.

From A Synopsis of Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Osteocephalus by William E. Duellman

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