OBJECT AND SUBJECT CATEGORIES IN

VETERINARY TERMINOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE

Rozhkov Yurii

[email protected]

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the study of conceptualization of the

categories of object and subject in veterinary terminology. The relevance of the
research is determined by the need to study object and subject categorization in
the formation, structuring, and functioning of English veterinary medical
terminology. The research material consists of English veterinary terms
obtained by the method of total sampling from specialized dictionaries. The
author analyzes productive ways of term formation representing the category
of object and subject, morphological, semantic, and syntactic aspects. The
categories of object and subject find wide application in veterinary terminology
as they are fundamental categories that play an important role both in the
emergence of scientific concepts and in the formation of the terms that reflect
them.

Keywords: categories, object, subject, categorization, conceptualization,

verbalization, veterinary medicine, terminology.

Introduction
The linguistic expression of reality categorization is one of the cardinal
problems of modern cognitive sciences and cognitive linguistics in
particular. Linguists actively and diversely research the terminology of
various branches of science. In the realm of language, scientific concepts
are organized by scholars into categories based on specific characteristics.
This practice stems from the presence of these conceptual types within
each term system, which in turn governs the distribution of the core
terminological vocabulary within a particular field of knowledge.
The terminology of various scientific disciplines and their subject
areas has its own set of categories. The conceptual field of veterinary
medicine is characterized by such epistemological categories as time,
space, object, cause, process, sign, quantity, and subject.
The most important categories for veterinary terminology are the
categories of object and subject. The significance of these categories in


PhD. in Philology, Associate Professor, National University of Life and
Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
186 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
veterinary terminology stems from their fundamental role in describing
and understanding the various aspects of veterinary medicine. The
category of "object" refers to the entities or things that are the focus of
veterinary attention, such as animals, diseases, treatments, or diagnostic
procedures. For example, in veterinary practice, the object of examination
could be an animal patient presenting with a specific set of symptoms or a
particular disease.
On the other hand, the category of "subject" typically refers to the
individuals or entities performing actions or undergoing processes within
the veterinary context. This can include veterinarians, veterinary
technicians, researchers, or even the animals themselves. Understanding
the subject category helps delineate roles, responsibilities, and
perspectives within the field of veterinary medicine.
Overall, the categories of object and subject serve as foundational
elements for organizing, describing, and communicating various aspects of
veterinary medicine, from diagnoses and treatments to research and
education. They provide a framework for structuring the knowledge and
practices within the field, making them essential considerations in
veterinary terminology.
Modern cognitive science allows us to review these concepts from new
positions, taking into account psychological, philosophical and linguistic
aspects. Therefore, the relevance of our article is determined by the need
to study object and subject categorization in the formation, structuring and
functioning of the English terminology of veterinary medicine.
The study and description of terminological units and methods used to
implement object and subject categories in veterinary terminology have
not yet been the subject of separate research, therefore it contains many
unresolved issues and determines the relevance of further investigation.

The aim of this work is to study the conceptualization of object and

subject categories and the linguistic means of their representation in the
English terminology of veterinary medicine.

Materials and methods of research

The material for observations was reference literature and specialized
dictionaries: "Veterinary Medicine: A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle,
Horses, Sheep, Pigs, and Goats" by Peter D. Constable1, "Black's Veterinary
Dictionary" by Edward Black2, "Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary

1 P.D. Constable, K.W. Hinchcliff, S.H. Done, W. Grünberg, Veterinary medicine: a
textbook of the diseases of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and goats. Amsterdam: Elsevier
Health Sciences, 2016. 515 p
2 B. Edward, Black's Veterinary Dictionary. London: Bloomsbury, 2015. 514 p.

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 187

Dictionary" by Virginia P. Studdert3, “Concise Colour Medical Dictionary”
by Elizabeth Martin4. The analysis is carried out using definitional, word-
formation, semantic, categorical, and conceptual methods.

Literature Review
The study of the processes of categorization of natural objects and
phenomena and their reflection in language has been extensively developed
in numerous works by renowned linguists, both foreign and domestic, such as
G. Lakoff5, L. Manerko6, B. Rudzka-Ostyn7, O. Selivanova8 and others.
The relevance of studying the problem of categorization in the fields of
medicine and veterinary medicine is evidenced by numerous works that
have recently paid attention to this issue. For example, E. Bekisheva's 9
study presents the forms of linguistic representation of epistemological
categories in clinical medical terminology, while V. Lashkul’s 10 work
focuses on conceptual categories represented by English-language
epizootological terms. Additionally, V. Lashkul explored the
epistemological categories of the sign and process in English
epizootological terminology1112. Тhe object of Kiseleva's research is the
language means of the "cause-effect" categories in nosological units13. Yu.
Rozhkov's scientific investigations addressed conceptual categories used to
denote animal diseases in the English language14, the causal categorization


3 V.P. Studdert, Saunders comprehensive veterinary dictionary. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Health Sciences, 2020. 450 p.
4 E.A. Martin, Concise colour medical dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2015. 312 p.
5 G. Lakoff, The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. Metaphor and Thought,

Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 288 p.

6 L.A. Manerko, Modern tendencies of domestic cognitive linguistics development.

Cognitive linguistics: new problems of perception, Collection of scientific works, 5, 2007.

P. 136-140.
7 B. Rudzka-Ostyn, Topics in cognitive linguistics. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1988. p. 154.
8 E. Selivanova, Cognitive onomasiology. Kyiv: Phytosociocenter, 2000. 95 p.
9 E.V. Bekisheva, Forms of linguistic presentation of epistemological categories in

clinical terminology. Abstract of Dissertation to obtain the doctor of philological sciences

degree. Astana: Science, 2007. 50 p.
10 V.A. Lashkul, Gnoseological category of feature in English epizootological

terminology. International journal of philology, 12(3), 2021. P. 85-89.

11 V.A. Lashkul, Language means of process category in the English epizootological

terminology. International journal of philology, 12(4), 2021. P. 50-54.

12 V.A. Lashkul, Conceptual categories represented by English language

epizootological terms. International journal of philology, 13(4), 2022. P. 50-57.

13 O.H. Kiselova, Linguistic means of category “cause-result” in nosological units.

Kyiv: Studia linguistic. 6(1), 2012. P. 107-117.

14 Yu.H. Rozhkov, Causal categorization of animal diseases’ English term system.

Studia humanitatis, 3, 2021 Retrieved from: https://st-hum.com/tags/veterinarnaya-

terminologiya.
188 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
of the English terminological system of animal diseases 15 and the feature
category in the English clinical veterinary terminology16. Furthermore, the
categories of process, space and time in English veterinary terminology are
discussed in the articles by O. Syrotina1718.
Despite the large number of linguistic studies devoted to the problem
of categorization in veterinary terminology, its object and subject
categories have not received sufficient coverage.

Results
Veterinary medicine terminology is a collection of terms that denote
concepts within veterinary science and specific nomenclature terms within
the field of veterinary professional activity.
The professional specificity of terminological units in veterinary
medicine in the English language is reflected in categories and concepts.
An analysis of linguists' works (O. Bekisheva 19, N. Boldyrev20, O.
Selivanova21, Ye. Holovanova22) has shown that humans generalize and
categorize existing knowledge into groups. This is due to the necessity to
group objects that one comprehends as similar or dissimilar based on
certain characteristics compared to an existing standard.
The very idea of categorical division of reality in an ontological key
and in specialized languages puts the necessity of studying not an
individual term, but a whole category of terms for verbalizing concepts to
the forefront in terminological studies. The categorical approach is based
on the general scientific principle of systematicity, as any science is
characterized by systematicity (unlike non-scientific or pre-scientific


15 Yu.H. Rozhkov, Conceptual categories to denote animal diseases terms in
English. International journal of philology, 12 (1). 2021. P. 108-112.
https://doi.org/10.31548/ philolog2021.01.108
16 Yu.H. Rozhkov, Linguistic representation of the feature category in the English

clinical veterinary terminology. Cogito-Multidisciplinary research Journal, (1), 2022. P.

188-203.
17 O.O. Syrotina, Gnoseological Category of Sign in the English Epizoоtological

Terminology. International Journal of Philology, 12(3), 2021. P. 77-84.

18 O.O. Syrotina, Representation of the category of process in the English-language

clinical terminology of veterinary. Studia Humanitatis, 3, 2021.

19 E.V. Bekisheva, Forms of linguistic presentation of epistemological categories in

clinical terminology. Abstract of Dissertation to obtain the doctor of philological sciences

degree. Astana: Science, 2007. 50 p.
20 N.N. Boldyrev, Linguistic categories as a format of knowledge. Issues of

Cognitive Linguistics, 2(10), 2006. P. 5-22.

21 E. Selivanova, Cognitive onomasiology. Kyiv: Phytosociocenter, 2000. 95 p.
22 Ye. I. Holovanova, Cognitive aspects of categorization in languages for specific

purposes. Reality, language and perception. Tambov: Derzhavin’s publishing house, 2(3),
2002. P. 220-227.

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 189

knowledge), which is expressed in the combination of a certain number of
objects and presupposes relations between them.
Therefore, in terms of formation, any category is a set of objects
combined on the basis of a common concept. A category, as a format of
knowledge, is knowledge of both the class of objects and the common
concept that serves as the basis for combining these objects into one
category23.
According to modern views on the process of categorization, a
conceptual understanding of categories is approved in modern linguistics:
"A category is a conceptual association of objects, or an association of
objects based on a common concept"24. Categories form classes of terms
around themselves, integrated by categorical features on the basis of a
general concept. They organize a separate level in the conceptual and
subject hierarchy of a special subject area. As a generic concept, these
categories are used to denote objects of scientific-technical and natural-
scientific spheres. The selected categories serve as a support and guide for
professional thinking and professional activity. Therefore, for our
research, it will be necessary to identify those scientific concepts and
methods of their verbalization, which form object and subject categories in
the English terminology of veterinary medicine.

Category of "object"
One of the most important categories for veterinary terminology is the
object category. Modern cognitive science allows us to look at the concept
of "object" from psychological, philosophical and linguistic points of view
from new perspectives.
Britannica Dictionary defines an object as "something that is a visible
entity, something that can be perceived by the senses" 25. Collins English
Dictionary proposes such definition of an object: “anything that has a fixed
shape or form, that you can touch or see, and that is not alive”26.
While the general definition from Collins English Dictionary suggests
that an object is something "that is not alive," the application of the term
"object category" in veterinary terminology considers living beings,
specifically animals, as objects in the sense that they are entities with distinct

N.N. Boldyrev, Cognitive studies of a language. Derzhavin’s Publishing House,
23

2009. P. 45-47.
24 Ye.I. Holovanova, Cognitive aspects of categorization in languages for specific

purposes. Reality, language and perception. Tambov: Derzhavin’s publishing house, 2(3),
2002. P. 220-221.
25 Britannica Dictionary, Object, 2020 Retrieved from:

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/object
26 Collins, Object, 2020 Retrieved from:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/object
190 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
characteristics that can be categorized for various purposes like diagnosis,
treatment, and research. In the context of veterinary terminology the term
"object" is used more broadly to include living organisms, and "object
category" is about grouping or categorizing these living entities. This use of
language might deviate slightly from the everyday understanding of "object"
as something inanimate, but it aligns with the specialized language and
concepts used in veterinary science and medicine27.
An object in the veterinary field is a specific subject of research,
treatment, or observation, which constitutes an objective focus of
veterinary interest.
In the context of veterinary medicine, the category "object" is used to
structure animal diseases, determining the specific entity or subject on
which or in which the pathological process occurs. This category aims to
identify the specific animal that is the subject of study, treatment, or
population subjected to pathological influence. The use of the "object"
category helps veterinary professionals more effectively classify, diagnose,
and treat diseases in specific animals, as well as manage the risk of
infection and spread of infections among different animal populations.
The animal organism can also be represented as an object with all its
characteristic features of integrity and, at the same time, divisibility.
Furthermore, all animal diseases are somehow related to zoological objects
(animal species).
Terms representing the object category in veterinary medicine can be
divided into three groups: 1) terms denoting affected anatomical objects;
2) terms denoting pathological objects; 3) terms denoting specific animals.
Below, in the figure, the structure of the object category in veterinary
terminology is presented.


27 Yu. H. Rozhkov, Linguistic representation of the feature category in the English
clinical veterinary terminology. Cogito-Multidisciplinary research Journal, (1), 2022. P.
190-191.

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 191

 Object

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Figure: Structure of the object category in veterinary

terminology

Let's consider the groups of nominations related to the object category

in more detail. The first group comprises terms denoting affected
anatomical objects. These are terminological units that designate diseases
based on anatomical localization (abdomen diseases, diseases of the
digestive system, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, diseases of
urinary ways, diseases of the reproductive system, etc.). In the examples
provided, the indication of the anatomical object is the main topographic
feature by which the clinical term is classified. Typical lexical
representatives of affected anatomical objects in the studied terminology
are complex and derivative terms denoting animal diseases. The indication
of the affected anatomical object can be made through lexical and word-
formation means: in English terms (heart failure); in partially English
terms with assimilated classicisms (vestibular disease), as well as through
Greek term elements (pancreatitis, from Gr. pancreas - pancreas). Affix
morphemes specifying the site of damage in the anatomical object are used
to express local signs. These include prefixes of Greek (endo-, exo-, pan-,
hemi-, epi-, para-) and Latin (infra-, intra-, sub-, retro-, inter-) origin.
The second group of terms representing the object category comprises
terms denoting pathological objects, reflecting prototypical conceptual
features. Most terms represent the presence of features of the result of a
certain action or the influence of supernatural forces in their conceptual
structure. The second prototypical conceptual feature is the reflection in
192 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
the term of the form of the pathological object denoted by the name of
geometric characteristics (cyst, fistula), as well as by comparison (hunch,
papilloma).
Terms denoting pathological objects are divided into several thematic
subgroups: 1) names of pathological cavities; 2) names of tissue and organ
damage; 3) names of skin pathological objects; 4) names of defects and
neoplasms; 5) names of concrements and pathological formations; 6)
names of artificial objects.
1. The names of pathological cavities include such terms as: abscess,
hernia, aneurysm, cyst and the term element – meta28.
2. The names of tissue and organ damage are represented by terms of
English origin (wound, ulcer, scar; bed sore, decubital ulcer, pressure sore;
grazed wound, abraded wound, as well as non-English terms (fistula,
cicatrix, erosion, infarct, infiltration)29.
3. The names of skin pathological objects are represented by
numerous terms of English origin (wart, blister, agnails, bead, birthmark)
and terms of Greek-Latin origin (callus, nodule, comedo, pustule, anbury
(vet.), papilloma, papule, petechia, roseola, eczema, furuncle)30.
4. The names of defects and neoplasms as a reflection of the object
category can be represented by English terms (hunch, crop, spur, etc.) and
terms of non-English origin (polyp, caruncle, etc.)31.
5. Names of concrements and pathological formations. The term
"concretion" (concrētiōn-, concrētiō – formation of something solid)
borrowed from Latin denotes “dense formation in the cavities or tissues of
the body”32.

Therefore, the object category is widely used in veterinary

terminology, as it is one of the principles of classification of animal
diseases, on the basis of which the process of knowledge of the objects of
veterinary medicine, as well as the formation, structuring and functioning
of English terminology for the designation of animal diseases, is realized.
Names of concrements are primarily formed syntactically using the
term component "calculosus" (Latin "calculus" - stone), for example,
urinary calculus, biliary calculus, renal calculus; or with the use of the term
component "lith-" (Greek "lithus" - stone), for example, nephrolith,
uroliths, and so on.

28 B. Edward, Black's Veterinary Dictionary. London: Bloomsbury, 2015. P. 50-51.
29 Ibidem, p. 161.
30 Ibidem, p. 78.
31 D.R. Lane, S. Guthrie, S. Griffith, Dictionary of Veterinary Nursing E-Book.

Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2007. p.103.

32 V.P., Studdert, Saunders comprehensive veterinary dictionary. Amsterdam:

Elsevier Health Sciences, 2020. p. 150.

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 193

 These term elements, "lith-" and "calculus," are used in the names of
diseases associated with the formation of concrements (nephrolithiasis,
calculus cholecystitis, etc.)33.
The sixth group of terms representing the object category comprises
terms that indicate the relationship of a disease to a specific animal, in
other words, they indicate the object of the disease (the animal).
Animal disease nominations can be divided depending on specific
objects (animals, groups of animals, etc.). Terminological units that
differentiate diseases by animal species are divided into nine subgroups: 1)
diseases of domestic animals; 2) diseases of cattle; 3) diseases of sheep and
goats; 4) diseases of horses; 5) diseases of lagomorphs; 6) diseases of
birds; 7) fish diseases; 8) swine diseases; 9) bee diseases. Examples of
animal disease nominations representing the object category are provided.
1. Disease names of domestic animals include: Canine influenza;
Canine coronavirus, Feline leukemia, Feline juvenile osteodystrophy,
Feline influenza, Feline stomatitis, Malignant jaundice of dogs.
2. Disease names of cattle are represented by terms such as: Bovine
ephemeral fever, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Malignant catarrhal
fever, Bovine tuberculosis, Bovine babesiosis, Bovine brucellosis, Mad cow
disease.
3. Disease names of sheep and goats are reflected in such English
terms as: Malignant aphtha of sheep, Nairobi sheep disease, Contagious
caprine pleuropneumonia, Caprine arthritis, Sheep pox and goat pox,
Bradzot in sheep.
4. Disease names of horses include terms like: Contagious equine
metritis, Equine scabies, Equine influenza, Equine suffocation or cold.
5. Disease names of lagomorphs are represented in terms such as:
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, Rabbit calicivirus disease.
6. Disease names of birds are represented by terms such as: Avian
chlamydiosis, Fowl pox, Fowl typhoid, Avian tuberculosis, Crazy chick
disease, Fowl cholera, Quail bronchitis.
7. Disease names of fish include terms like: Spring viraemia of carp,
Red sea bream iridoviral disease.
8. Disease names of swine are represented by terms such as: Atrophic
rhinitis of swine, Porcine brucellosis, Porcine cysticercosis, Greasy pig
disease, Swine dysentery, Reproductive and respiratory syndrome of pigs,
Swine influenza, Swine dysentery, Swine fever.
9. The term Acariosis of bees belongs to the disease names of bees,
along with Acute Bee Paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus.


33V.P. Studdert, Saunders comprehensive veterinary dictionary. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Health Sciences, 2020. p. 112.
194 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
 Therefore, the object category is widely used in veterinary
terminology, as it is one of the principles of classifying animal diseases, on
the basis of which the process of understanding the objects of veterinary
medicine, as well as the formation, structuring, and functioning of English
terminology for the designation of animal diseases, is realized.
Category of subject
The category of the subject is one of the significant categories with a
long history in science. Initially, for example, in the works of Aristotle, the
concept of "subject" denoted the bearer of properties, states, and actions
and in this respect was identical to the concept of substance, meaning it
did not have a direct relation to the understanding of such a type of being
as a human. However, as a result of the final crystallization of the
theoretical postulates of the philosophy of the New Time, this concept
began to be applied primarily to humans, and it is precisely humans who
became the "exclusive" subject34. From the perspective of contemporary
philosophy, a subject is 1) a being that exercises agency, undergoes
conscious experiences, and is situated in relation to other things that exist
outside itself; thus, a subject is any individual, person, or observer 35; 2) an
individual (or social group) as a bearer of objective-practical activity and
cognition aimed at an object36. In linguistics, the subject refers to the
agent, the doer of the action, the object of thought37.
In veterinary medicine, the category of the subject refers to the
category of the professional practitioner, namely the veterinarian. They are
professionals who actively interact with animals, communicate with their
owners, and care for the health and well-being of animals. In this context,
a veterinarian can be considered a subject of veterinary practice, as they
make decisions, perform diagnoses, prescribe treatments, and conduct
medical procedures on animals38.
As linguistic evidence demonstrates, designations of actors in
professional spheres emerge at the stage when all other nominatively
significant "participants" in the activity have already been identified: the


34 I.T. Frolova, Dictionary of Philosophy. 5th edition. Moscow: Political publications,
1987. p. 465.
35 J. Heartfield, Postmodernism and the 'Death of the Subject, 2002. Retrieved from:

https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/en/heartfield-james.htm
36 Concise academic dictionary. Retrieved from:

https://gufo.me/dict/philosophy/%D0%A1%D0%A3%D0%91%D0%AA%D0%95%D0%9
A%D0%A2
37 L.L. Neliubin, Dictionary of Translation studies. Moscow: Flinta, 2016. 552 p.
38 N. Brown, G. Innes, History of the veterinary profession. Northern Tablelands

LLS, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.flockandherd.net.au/other/ireader/vet-

profession-history.html

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 195

action itself, the object of the activity, its product, and the instrument.
Creating the name of the actor completes, closes the circle of cognitive
objects included in the concept of activity, thus definitively shaping the
distinction, isolation of a separate sphere of activity in the nominator's
consciousness. Confirmation of the thesis about the interconnection of the
linguistically formed designation of the actor with the representation of a
certain area of activity in the nominator's consciousness can be found in
the tradition that emerged in the 19th century and became a norm: the
designation of a profession (as a type of activity) by the name of the
practitioner, that is, metonymically39.
Persons serving as doctors to animals have existed since the earliest
recorded times, and veterinary practice was already established as a
specialty as early as 2000 BCE in Babylonia and Egypt. The ancient Greeks
had a class of physicians who were called “horse-doctors,” and the Latin
term for the specialty, veterinarius (“pertaining to beast of burden”). Its
first known use as animal doctor dates to 1646 (Merriam-Webster) while
the adjective 'veterinary' was first used in 179140.
According to Lenglet's explanation, the word "veterinary" derives from
the Celtic "vee" (hence the German "Vieh"), meaning cattle, "teeren"
(hence the German "zehren"), meaning to ail, and "aerts" or "arts"
(German "Arzt"), meaning physician. According to this version, the
Romans borrowed this term from Celtic druids, basing it on the words
"veterinaria" and "veterinarius," which literally translate to "one who cares
for cattle," "one who treats cattle," or "one who attends to cattle." In the
Roman Empire, the term "veterinarius" was standard for denoting a
person who dealt with the treatment of animals. At the same time, the
Romans also used the words "mulomedicina" and "mulomedicus," literally
meaning "doctor of mules." Thus, the interpretation of the actor in the
professional field of veterinary medicine occurs through the relation to the
object (animal) and the process (treatment, care)41.
"Veterinarian" was first used in print by Thomas Browne in 1646.
Although "vet" is commonly used as an abbreviation in all English-
speaking countries, the occupation is formally referred to as a veterinary


39Ye. I. Holovanova, Cognitive aspects of categorization in languages for specific
purposes. Reality, language and perception. Tambov: Derzhavin’s publishing house, 2(3),
2002. P. 226-227.
40 N. Brown, G. Innes, History of the veterinary profession. Northern Tablelands

LLS, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.flockandherd.net.au/other/ireader/vet-

profession-history.html
41 J.N. Adams, Pelagonius and Latin veterinary terminology in the Roman Empire.

Leiden; New York; Koln : Brill, 1995. p. 195.

196 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024
surgeon in the United Kingdom and Ireland and now as a veterinarian in
most of the rest of the English-speaking world42.
Veterinarian is a general term used to refer to a veterinary medical
professional. Britannica Dictionary proposes such definition of this word:
“Veterinarian means a person who is trained to give medical care and
treatment to animals: an animal doctor — called also vet, (British, formal)
veterinary surgeon”43.
The names of persons by profession refer to special vocabulary that
unites all lexical means that are in one way or another connected with a
person’s professional activity44.
The names of various professions represent a large semantic group. In
veterinary terminology, terms reflecting the category of a professional
figure can be divided into two subgroups: general industry words and
highly specialized words.
General terms representing the category of professional practitioners
in the veterinary field are presented by synonymous lexemes: veterinarian,
veterinary doctor, vet, veterinary surgeon.
Narrow-specialized terms include terminology that nominates
veterinary medicine specializations and subspecialties. The 22 different
organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association
(AVMA) represent 41 distinct veterinary medicine specializations and
subspecialties. Below are examples of the names of veterinary specialists in
English: Veterinary Dermatologist, Veterinary Ophthalmologist, Veterinary
Cardiologist, Veterinary Technician, Food Animal Veterinarians, Food
Safety and Inspection Veterinarians, Research Veterinarians.
Categories of individuals by professional feature are formed based on
two productive models. In general, grammatical morphemes, categories,
and constructions take the form of symbolic units. In our case, they serve as
symbols denoting the category of a person. The first model is the suffixation
method: suffixes traditionally used to form the category of an agent (actor)
are added to the base of nouns (or verbs) – names of diseases or names of
sciences. An example is the suffix "-ian" (veterinary – veterinarian).
The second model, widely represented in veterinary terminology, is
terminological phrases. Examples of two-component terminological
phrases nominating veterinary specialists in English include the following
patterns:
1. Attributive phrases consisting of a structural type "noun + noun":
Veterinary anesthesiologists, Veterinary dentists, Veterinary dermatologists,

42E.A. Martin, Concise colour medical dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2015. p. 112.
43 Ibidem, p. 75.
44 A.V. Superanskaya, N.V. Podolskaya, N.V. Vasileva, General terminology.

Questions of theory, 2003. p. 86.

Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal 197

Veterinary nutritionists, Veterinary ophthalmologists, Veterinary pathologist,
Veterinary radiologists, Veterinary toxicologists, Veterinary Technician
(Veterinary Assistant), Veterinary Microbiologist, Veterinary Oncologist,
Veterinary Hygienist;
2. Attributive phrases consisting of a stem noun and a complete
adjective agreed with it (adverb) as a defining word; structural type
"adjective (adverb) + noun": Marine veterinarian, Emergency
Veterinarian, Equine veterinarian, Military veterinarian.
A small number are three-component phrases of the structural type
"noun + noun" + noun": food safety veterinarian, lab animal veterinarian,
Veterinary Rehabilitation Therapist, food animal veterinarian.
Thus, the formation of professional terms, such as "veterinarian" or
"veterinary doctor," contributes to the precise definition and verbalization of
the category of practitioner in veterinary medicine, as well as forms
professional identity in this field. Terms used for classifying individuals
engaged in veterinary practice, such as veterinarians, veterinary technicians,
and assistants, play a crucial role in effective communication among
professionals. The accuracy and clarity of terminology by professionals ensure
that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
The formation of terms representing the category of practitioners in
veterinary medicine is the result of using various linguistic tools, such as
suffixes, terminological phrases, and specialized professional terms.

Conclusion
The categories of object and subject find wide application in veterinary
terminology as they are fundamental categories that play an important role
both in the emergence of scientific concepts and in the formation of the
terms that reflect them. Utilizing these categories helps establish
standards for veterinary practice and research, promoting efficiency and
reducing ambiguity in communication among professionals.
Object categorization assists veterinarians in accurately identifying the
type of animal or disease under consideration, which is critical for
diagnosis and treatment. It allows for grouping objects based on common
characteristics, simplifying the analysis and understanding of veterinary
concepts and issues. Terms representing the category of object in
veterinary medicine can be divided into three groups: 1) terms for
designating affected anatomical objects; 2) terms for designating
pathological objects; 3) terms for designating specific animals.
In veterinary medicine, the category of subject defines the professional
practitioner, namely the veterinarian, who actively interacts with animals,
communicates with their owners, and cares for their health and well-being.
The designation of professionals in veterinary terminology indicates the

198 Vol. XVI, no. 1/MARCH, 2024

establishment and recognition of a specific sphere of activity in the minds
of professionals. Terms representing the category of professional
practitioner can be classified into general and specialized, which simplifies
communication and understanding of veterinary concepts and processes.
Terms representing the category of practitioner in veterinary medicine are
formed through the use of professional terms, specialized suffixes, and
terminological phrases.

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