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

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

They sting, as their trivial name indicates, like a nettle when incautiously touched.

From Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon by Tennent, James Emerson, Sir

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 Harvey, William

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 The Young Voyageurs Boy Hunters in the North by Harvey, William

This species takes its' trivial name of sessile, from the flowers having no footstalk, but sitting as it were immediately on the end of the stalk.

From The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 2 or Flower-Garden Displayed by Curtis, William