Nomenclature and Terminology of Organic Chemistry. I. Sixty Years of Croatian Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry

This article describes the history and development of the Croatian nomenclature of organic chemistry from the publication of the first translation of international nomenclature recommendations to the present age. In the Introduction, trivial, common, systematic (rational), and semisystematic names are defined, and the etymology and meaning of terms nomenclature and terminology are clarified.At the beginning of the central part of this article, attention is focused on the need to create our national nomenclature. The very first such project, initiated by the Croatian Chemical Society (CCS), was the translation of the Geneva (1892) and Lie`ge rules (1930) published in 1954. In 1979 comprehensive general IUPAC rules appeared, and the Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers (CSCE) in two volumes printed the Croatian edition of this important document, known as the Blue Book, in 1985 and 1988. A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds (1993) expanded the main principles and rules from the Blue Book, and introduced a higher degree of organic nomenclature systematization. The Croatian translation of the Guide was published in 2002. In the last six decades, almost fifty translations of international rules have been issued, and almost all of them represented the official recommendations of the CCS/CSCE. Finally, the nomenclature in the translations of five comprehensive textbooks fororganic chemistry is analysed.In conclusion, readers are informed that the Croatian version of IUPAC rules is applied in our secondary school and university education, in Croatian encyclopaedism and mass media, as well.