Antedating of "Geology"

[Fred Shapiro]

Contributions to this list, when they treat historical-lexicographical
subjects, tend to focus on food vocabulary and American slang.  It should
not be forgotten, however, that state-of-the-art research methods also
allow for improvements in the historical record of many other types of
terms, such as scientific words.

Here is an antedating of a highly important scientific term, the familiar
sense of the word "geology," obtained from searching JSTOR:

geology (OED, sense 2., 1795)

1791  _Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society of London_ 81.68  This
inveterate error ... has effectually barred the way to all great
discoveries in geology till of late.


Fred Shapiro


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Public Services     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  and Lecturer in Legal Research            Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------