A great deal of English academic vocabulary derives from Latin and Greek. Much has also been borrowed from or via French, as well as from other languages such as German, Italian and Arabic in subjects such as Psychology, Music, Science and Mathematics. In addition, many of the abbreviations common in university and research writing (such as e.g., i.e. and etc.) and many everyday academic terms (such as campus, school and curriculum) derive from Latin or Greek.

Given the large number of foreign elements in English university and research vocabulary, it can be difficult to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word, and Greek and Latin elements – such as tele-vision – are still used to coin new scientific terms today. Knowledge of some Greek and Latin helps to decipher the meaning of many terms, not least for speakers from parts of the world with other classical languages.

The PhraseBook therefore includes a glossary with:

University and research terminology

a priori
de facto
festschrift
inter alia
pace
passim
prima facie
sic
etc.

University and research abbreviations

ABD
cf.
CV
et al.
ff.
Hons.
ibid.
i.e.
MPhil
N.B.
etc.

Greek, Latin and other elements

dys-
ecto-
endo-
exo-
iso-
meso-
meta-
neo-
-nomy
onto-
etc.

Reference section

Finally, the PhraseBook includes a reference section with SI prefixes and SI and British-American units:

SI prefixes

  • giga, tera, pita, exa, zetta, yotta etc.

SI and British-American units

  • inches, feet, yards, pints, gallons, pounds, ounces etc. and SI units