Lexicography and Scientific Terminology in Spanish: A Study of the Mercurio peruano (1791–94)

Abstract

The lack of a historical dictionary of Spanish leads to problems specific to the study of technical and specialized lexis. The Academy dictionary until its most recent editions applied very restrictive criteria to the acceptance of these forms, and Corominas and Pascual's etymological dictionary offers little information about technical and learned words. Furthermore, the fact that the latter dictionary often considers the first attestation of these forms to be the earliest edition of the DRAE in which they appeared almost always provides a date much later than the actual incorporation of the form into specialized usage. There is, therefore, an obvious need to consult primary sources in order to document the history of scientific vocabulary in Spanish. In the present study we offer an analysis of the chemical and medical terminology used in the Mercurio peruano (Lima, 1791–94), in an attempt to illustrate the existence and usage of this lexical field at the end of the 18th century.La falta de un diccionar...