Tuesday, August 7, 2012

nouns - Nomenclature or alternatives



Suppose I invent a phrase to describe a particular thing, such as "the three-particle paradigm", which is a new paradigm that I have developed to think about a certain field within particle physics.




I'm looking for alternatives to the words phrase or term to describe "the three-particle paradigm". Is it correct to refer to this one phrase as a nomenclature? Or is nomenclature more for a collection of words encompassing a bigger body of knowledge?



If nomenclature is invalid, please provide alternatives.



The reason I'm looking for a word like this is that I want to explain why I chose these words, such as:




Allow me to explain the nomenclature "the three-particle paradigm": First, there are three particles. Second, ...





Using phrase doesn't sound too good to me.


Answer



While nomenclature has a sense (now obsolete) corresponding to “name”, its more usual meanings “A set of names or terms” and “A set of rules used for forming the names or terms in a particular field of arts or sciences” don't apply to your need. Instead consider synonyms of name, such as appellation (“A name, title or designation”). A little less formally, you might use moniker.


No comments:

Post a Comment