Origin of the binomial Linneaus nomenclature used to name some Old World legume species

Abstract

The nomenclatural revision that is used to name some old world legume species aims to explain the origin of the Latin and Old Greek words Linnaeus used to denote some of the most ancient and traditional Eurasian grain legume crops, such as pea, lentil, field bean and vetches. The results of this revision establishes a firm link between the Linnaean words used today with their origins in the Proto-Indo-European language and give a wealth of their cognates in the other branches of the Indo-European family. The results found a remarkable level of conservativeness of the words the ancestors of the modern Indo-European nations of Europe used to denote grain legumes a millennium ago, as well as a rich exchange between both Indo-European people and their non-Indo-European neighbors, before they were immortalized by the Linnean binominal nomenclature.