Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 541-2):
The forms of scientific discourse developed by the Greeks were then taken over into Latin. Although Latin differed in certain significant respects (for example, it had no definite article, and it did not readily accept prepositional phrases as Qualifier in the nominal group), it was close enough to Greek, both linguistically and culturally, for this to present few problems. Most Greek derivational compounds could be calqued directly into Latin (e.g., peripherêia to circumferens ); Latin had its own stock of nominalising suffixes, like -atio(nem) and -mentum; and a reasonably similar potential for expanding nominal groups.
As Latin took over as the language of learning throughout the greater portion of Europe, it had already developed an equivalent semogenic power. In the mediæval period Latin continued to serve; but by this time, although its morphology was largely unchanged, it had taken on the semantic patterning of the vernacular European languages. So when Latin itself was replaced by these languages, the transition was not unlike that which had taken place earlier into Latin from Greek: first the Greeks developed new meanings in Greek form, then these meanings were taken over into Latin forms, then new meanings were developed in Latin, then these new meanings were taken over into the modem European languages, then new meanings were developed within these languages. Thus there was a continuous evolution in the discourse of technology and science: in each transition, one component of the system was preserved.