Terminology

Leonardo, Vol. 13, pp. 63-64. Pergamon Press, 1980. Printed in Great Britain TERMINOLOGY The terms defined below were selected from artists' Articles and Notes published in the previous issue of Leonardo (cf. Ref. 13 below). Each definition is followed by an indication of the number of the pages in the previous issueon which the term first appears. The terms were not found in the art dictionaries among the dictionaries listed below, or they are used in a new sense. Some are terms that have been carried over into the field of art from the natural and social sciences,from mathematics and from technology. Numbers in brackets, e.g. [3, 171, refer to the dictionaries listed below. The definitions are not presumed to be unassailable. The editors would, therefore, welcome the comments of readers on the definitions presented. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. The Adeline Art Dictionary. Jules Adeline. Frederick Ungar, New York, 1967. The Basic Dictionary of Science. Ed. E. C. Graham. Macmillan, New York, 1965. Britannica World Language Dictionary. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chicago, 1962. Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary. New edition. Ed. A. M. Macdonald. Chambers, Edinburgh, 1972. A Dictionary o f Art and Artists. Third edition. Peter and Linda Murray. Penguin Books. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1972. A Dictionary o f Art Terms. Reginald G.Hagger. Hawthorn Books, New York, 1962. A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques. Ralph Mayer. Thomas Y. Crowell, New York, 1969. Dictionary o f the Arts. Martin L. Wolf, Philosophical Library, New York, 1951. Dictionnairepolyglotte des termesdhrt et dhrchkologie. Louis Reau. PressesUniversitaires de France, Paris, 1953 Glossary of Art, Architecture and Design since 1945. John A. Walker. Clive Bingley, London, 1973. Glossary o f Modern Art. John ODwyer and Raymond Le Mage. The Philosophical Library, New York. The Harper Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. James R. Newman. Harper and Row, New York, 1963. Leonardo, International Journal of Contemporary Visual Artists. Vol. 12, No. 4, Autumn, 1979. Pergamon Press, Oxford. Mathematics Dictionary. Third Edition. James and James. D. van Nostrand, Princeton, 1968. ThePenguin Dictionaryof Science. E. B. Uvarov, D. R. Chapman and A. Isaacs. Schocken Books, New York, 1972. Pergumon Dictionary o f Art. John FitzMaurice Mills. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1965. TheShorter OxfordEnglishDictionary.Third edition. Revised with Addenda. Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1965. Webster'sNew Collegiate Dictionary. Eighth edition. G.and C. Merriam, Springfield, Mass., 1973. %7. Alumina, aluminum oxide (in chemistry)-A white crystalline inorganic compound. It is used principally in cement, as a refractory and in the manufacture o f aluminum. ([13] p. 272; [15]) 968. Angle of repose, angle of rest (in geology)-The maximum angle of inclination with respect to the horizon that the surface of a pile of loose solid material, such as sand, assumes in equilibrium under gravity. ([13]p. 271; [H. J. Gray, ed. and compiler, Dictionary o f Physics (London: Longman, 1958)l) %9. Borax (inchemistry)-A white solublecrystalline salt, occurring in nature as tincal. It is used as an antiseptic, in fireproofing, as a flux and in the manufacture of ceramics and of glass. ([I31p. 302; [15]) 970. Butyrate (in plastics technology)-([l3] p. 304) (cf. Term 973, below: Cellulose acetate butyrate) 971. Calgon-trade name of a water softener that is essentially a complex phosphate of sodium. ([13] p. 269; [18]) 972. Carbon steel (in metallurgy)-Steel that derives its superior strength and hardness from the presence of carbon, other alloying elements (such as manganese, silicon and phosphorus) being present only in very small amounts. ([I 31p. 302; Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Springfield,Mass.: G.& C. Merriam, 1971)]) 973. Cellulose acetate butyrate, CAB (inplastics technology)-Any of several thermoplastic resins that resemble cellulose acetate resins but have a wider range of solubility in organic solvents and are more moisture resistant. They are used in molded and extruded plastics and in lacquers. [Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Springfield, Mass.: G .& C. Merriam, 1971)] 974. Drill rod,drill steel (in technology)-A steelusually with 0.85 percent or more carbon content used for rock drills, pins and dowels. ([I31 p. 302; [Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Springfield, Mass.: G.& C. Merriam, 1971)]) 63 64...