Re: what's a "nomen vanum"?

["T. Mike Keesey" <tkeese1@gl.umbc.edu>]

On Fri, 15 Oct 1999 Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:

> << I thought a _nomen vanum_ was a name that had no designated type material
>  (hence "empty") >>
> 
> No, that's a nomen nudum. "Naked name." Nomina nuda have often been >called< 
> nomina vana, but that doesn't >make< them nomina vana. Incidentally, nomen 
> vanum might also mean "idle name" as well as "empty name."

Well, that sounds appropriate, if the term isn't used.

I'd weed it out of my data files, but I don't know whether to make them
_nuda_ or _dubia_...

--T. Michael Keesey
tkeese1@gl.umbc.edu | THE DINOSAURICON: http://dinosaur.umbc.edu/
AOL IM:   RicBlayze | WORLDS:    http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~tkeese1/