| Scientific and Specialised Dictionaries |
| Abbreviations dictionary.
8th ed. R De Sola. Boca Raton (Fl):
CRC Press; 1992 |
| Academic Press Dictionary
of Science and Technology. C Morris, editor.
San Diego (CA): Academic Press; 1992.
Extensive coverage of both single and compound
scientific and technical terms (including those
of biological nomenclature), but the entry terms
often do not show the relevant style conventions
(such as italicisation of genus names.) The
appendices provide symbols and nomenclature
relevant to astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology,
and physics, as well as a chronology of science
since 1403. |
| Cambridge Dictionary of Science
and Technology. PMB Walker. New York: Cambridge
University Press; 1990. |
| Cambridge World Gazeteer:
a geographical dictionary. D Munro. New York:
Cambridge University Press; 1990 |
| Dictionary of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology. 2nd ed. J
Stenesh. New York: J Wiley; 1989. |
| Dictionary of Medical Acronyms
and Abbreviations. 2nd ed. S Jablonski.
Philadelphia (PA): Hanley and Belfus Inc; 1993. |
| Dictionary of Microbiology
and Molecular Biology. 2nd ed. P
Singleton and D Sainsbury. New York: J Wiley;
1993. |
| A Dictionary of Scientific
Units: including dimensionless numbers and scales.
HG Jerrard and DB McNeil. London: Chapman &
Hall; 1992 |
| A Dictionary of Statistical
Terms. 5th ed. FHC Marriot. Essex,
England: Longman Scientific and Technical; 1990. |
| The Facts on File Dictionary
of Science. EB Uvarov, A Isaacs. New York: Facts
on File; 1986. |
| Henderson's Dictionary of
Biological Terms. 10th ed. E Lawrence,
editor. New York: Halsted Press. |
| International Dictionary
of Medicine and Biology. SI Landau, editor.
New York: J Wiley; 1986.
This encyclopaedic work is undoubtedly the
most comprehensive dictionary in the English
language for medicine and related aspects of
biology and chemistry. It observes the convention
of italicisation for species names, but gives
possessive forms of single-name eponymic terms.
It is beginning to show its age; "AZT" is explained
only as "Ascheim-Zondek test" and "zidovudine"
is not an entry. Despite such minor evidence
of ageing, it belongs in every editorial office
concerned with medical and basic medical-science
texts. |
| The Language of Biotechnology:
a dictionary of terms. JM Walker, ME Cox. Washington:
Amreican Chemical Society; 1988. |
| McGraw-Hill Dictionary
of Scientific and Technical Terms. 5th
ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1993.
Similar to the Academic Press Dictionary
of Science and Technology (see annotation
above), but with more illustrations. |
| The Macmillan Dictionary
of Measurement. M Darton, J Clark. New York:
Macmillan; 1994.
This comprehensive dictionary covers in detail
archaic, nonscientific, and scientific units
of measurement, units of currency, and many
related topics difficult to find in other sources. |
| The Oxford Dictionary for
Scientific Writers and Editors. Oxford (UK):
Oxford University Press, Clarndon Press; 1991
A much smaller dictionary than the Academic
Press and McGraw-Hill dictionaries, but it could
probably answer most editorial queries, notably
for explanations of symbols and abbreviations. |
| The Oxford Dictionary of
Abbreviations. Oxford (UK): Oxford University
Press; 1992
A compact but comprehensive dictionary with
obvious emphasis on abbreviatins of British
origin but amply covering abbreviations from
the Commonwealth countries and the United States.
Scientific abbreviations and symbols are well
represented; conventions such as italicisation
and boldfacing are stipulated where appropriate,
but the conventions are not applied to the entry
letters. Notably useful for the abbreviations
representing academic diplomas and degrees,
honorific titles, and military ranks. |
| Stedman's Medical Dictionary.
25th ed. Baltimore: Williams and
Wilkins; 1990.
Carries definitions of terms relevant to bacteriology,
biochemistry, and virology in addition to strictly
medical terms. Does not apply some scientific
style conventions, such as italicisation of
genus and species names. |
| Webster's New Geographical
Dictionary. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster;
1988 |
