University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rare Book Room Exhibit

The Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique was the result of eight months of intensive work by four French chemists, Guyton de Morveau, Lavoisier, Berthollet, and Fourcroy, who met almost daily from the middle of 1786 until its publication in 1787. Before this work, the same substance might have as many as 12 different names, mostly having no relation to the thing. The main object of the Nomenclature was to present a systematic view of Lavoisier's new system of chemistry and to propose a more rational system of naming chemical compounds. The older nomenclature was characterized by names such as powder of algaroth, oil of tartar, salt of alembroth, pompholix, and many others, which often bore little or no relation to the substance's chemical constitution. In contrast, the Nomenclature introduced names such as hydrogen, oxygen, sodium chloride, and ferric sulfate, which are still in use today.

Partington III, pp41-42.

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