Big words were meant to be more precise and exacting. I believe the Age of Reason and the Industrial Revolution spurred research into metallurgy and chemistry, and thus education in general. To get your non mathematical ideas across though post of book, you had to use the exactly correct words. It was an scientific and academic arms race into the Age of Imperialism.
Well said RG. Gnoahhh loaned me the book
The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World and it really brought out, among other stuff, the evolution of technical language to describe advancements at the time that were astonishing. We just accept those words today as everyday phrases but were the esoteric language of inventors then.
The book is well worth a read if you have any interest in machining, measuring and how we got where we are today.
