Trivial name

In <a href="/facts/Chemistry/SrNqkGVm">chemistry</a>, a trivial name is a non-<a href="/facts/Systematic_name/WuY5Lzy8">systematic name</a> for a <a href="/facts/Chemical_substance/EWcXU41d">chemical substance</a>. That is, the name is not recognized according to the rules of any formal system of <a href="/facts/Chemical_nomenclature/scv3SqmM">chemical nomenclature</a> such as <a href="/facts/IUPAC_nomenclature_of_inorganic_chemistry/nzfwwsdG">IUPAC inorganic</a> or <a href="/facts/IUPAC_nomenclature_of_organic_chemistry/ElygYu14">IUPAC organic</a> nomenclature. A trivial name is not a <a href="/facts/Chemical_nomenclature/scv3SqmM">formal name</a> and is usually a <a href="/facts/Common_name/3KNNezEU">common name</a>.
Generally, trivial names are not useful in describing the essential properties of the thing being named. Properties such as the molecular structure of a chemical compound are not indicated. And, in some cases, trivial names can be ambiguous or will carry different meanings in different industries or in different geographic regions (for example, a trivial name such as <a href="/facts/White_metal/0k198Xzl">white metal</a> can mean various things). Trivial names are simpler. As a result, a limited number of trivial chemical names are <a href="/facts/Retained_name/MMSrKeo7">retained names</a>, an accepted part of the nomenclature.
Trivial names often arise in the common language; they may come from historic usages in, for example, <a href="/facts/Alchemy/CEx0U1Em">alchemy</a>. Many trivial names pre-date the institution of formal naming conventions. Names can be based on a property of the chemical, including appearance (color, taste or smell), consistency, and crystal structure; a place where it was found or where the discoverer comes from; the name of a scientist; a mythological figure; an astronomical body; the shape of the molecule; and even fictional figures. All elements that have been isolated have trivial names.

Trivial name open-in-new

Trivial name