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Previewing a dictionary is not particularly exciting, and I don’t expect you will be surprised by what you see. So, rather than just show the first few pages I have selected a little from the introduction plus some first pages from a few chapters. 

A Brief Introduction to Scientific Latin and Greek

One of the major problems for any scientist, or aspiring scientist, is understanding the origins and thus the meaning of the technical terms that they come across on a daily basis. Most of the words used in the sciences are derived from Greek or Latin; with many more from the former than from the latter, and many of us, although we may well be conversant with the Latin names of species and the Greek-derived technical terms, are unable to explain the meaning behind them. In this dictionary an attempt is made to remedy this by providing the roots of the most common words. 

Thus, for example, if we are confronted with the word CROSSOPTERYGII; look up the first part of the word crosso, which gives:

cross -o,   (Gr.)  fringe/tassel

then look up the remaining part of the word pterygii, which gives:

pterygi,   (Gr.)  a little wing or fin.

Knowing we are considering a fish name, the name is resolved as, tassel-finned fish. Similarly, having discovered that platy- is from the Greek for flat (), cnemis is from the Greek for legging (), latus is Latin for broad and pes in Latin means a foot; the damselfly Platycnemis latipes is obviously the one with flat legs and broad feet.

Not only does an awareness of the roots of a scientific name bring that particular name to life, in many cases it also helps to form a useful mental picture. Many such roots are common to many scientific terms, and once the meaning of these roots is understood their occurrence in words subsequently encountered will immediately suggest the meanings of the new words.

(The Greek script may appear misaligned in some browsers, but it is perfect in the book)