[Nhcoll-l] vouchers

[John E Simmons]

Just to add a note to Paul's excellent explanation--it may be useful to you
to look at the origin of the word "voucher" to better understand its
meaning.

*Voucher* comes from the Latin word *vocare*, which means "to call." The
best definition for *voucher* in the Oxford English Dictionary is "a fact,
circumstance, or thing to confirm or prove something," which is why we use
voucher in the ways that Paul described, to refer to specimens that have
been used in research to support the claims of the research. Voucher can
also mean such things as to summon someone to court to give evidence, etc.
But if you think of *voucher* as "a thing that confirms something," its
meaning in the phrase *voucher specimen* is clear.

There is an equivalent word for *voucher* in Spanish, *comprobante*, but I
have noticed that most Spanish speakers (at least those in Latin America)
prefer to use the word *voucher* when referring to scientific specimens
because it carries a more specific meaning and because it is derived from
Latin, it is easily adapted to Spanish.

I am curious to know what a *voucher specimen* is called in other
languages. German, French, Norwegian, Japanese, Chinese?

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
*and*
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
*and*
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima


On Thu, Nov 3, 2022 at 8:23 AM Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu> wrote:

> To “vouch for” something or someone means “to support their claim to
> truth”. If I vouch for your trustworthiness, I support your claim to that
> quality.
>
>
>
> Voucher specimens also support claims to truth that are either published
> or in some way codified. For example: if I write a paper about mollusks
> from Bermuda, then all the specimens I mention in it become vouchers for
> that paper. In the future, anyone who is interested can look at them and
> see what I was working with.
>
>
>
> Vouchers need not be for a published work, but usually refer to a defined
> study or event. All the material collected in a field survey, for example,
> are vouchers for that survey – even if nothing about it is published. They
> support the claim that the survey was carried out and that those species
> were collected.
>
>
>
> Specimens in a general collection, even fine ones, are therefore not
> vouchers until someone has said something specifically about them or they
> belong to a named group such as material from an expedition.
>
>
>
> A loose definition of “voucher”, then, might be “material evidence for a
> claim to truth”.
>
>
>
> PC
>
>
>
>
>
> Paul Callomon
>
> Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates
> ------------------------------
>
> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University*
>
> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
> *prc44 at drexel.edu <prc44 at drexel.edu> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *Lennart
> Lennuk
> *Sent:* Thursday, November 3, 2022 3:03 AM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] voucher
>
>
>
> *External.*
>
> Hi!
>
>
>
> Just to clear it up in my mind. What is word „voucher“ used for?
>
> There is voucher specimens – that means top specimens of a certain species?
>
> Then vouchers when we speak a parts of specimen, like feathers,
> bloodsamples – is it only in zoology?
>
> And then also eDNA Voucher.
>
>
>
> Sorry for a little messy wording.
>
>
>
> Best regards!
>
> Lennart Lennuk
>
> Head of collections
>
> Estonian Museum of Natural History
>
> +372 6603404, 56569916
>
>
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