V

valence See CHEMICAL SYMBOLS.

valley Check capitalization with Geographical Names Board of Canada.

valley bottom, valley fill, valley floor

valleyside

vapour

variable, varied, varying, various Do not misuse these words. 'A sandstone does not contain variable (or varying) amounts of chert' — this usage implies that the sandstone has say 10% chert one day and 20% chert the next. The correct word to use in this context is varied or various.

variegated

vein-dyke

verbal See ORAL.

very Nine times out of ten the word very can be omitted without loss, and, often, its use defeats its purpose, as in: 'This machine achieves a very perfect separation of the ore minerals from the gangue'. Nothing could be better than a perfect separation, and in this example the word very implies 'nearly perfect'. As another example, the statement: 'This is a very good report', is indefinite because, depending on the emphasis placed on words, the report may be exceptionally good, or of normal quality. Other examples in which very should be omitted are: 'The coal-bearing beds are not very widespread' (meaning 'they are of limited extent'); 'The shale is very impervious'; and the expressions 'very approximately' (meaning 'roughly'), 'very flat', and 'very horizontal'.

via Means 'by way of'.

vigour, vigorous

village Capitalized as in Village of Rockcliffe Park.

viz. Abbreviation of the Latin videlicet, meaning 'it is permitted to see' or 'namely'. The abbreviation 'viz.' is used when listing items just mentioned or hinted at: The three directors — viz. Brown, Cunningham, and Smith — are now in the board room.

The abbreviation 'viz.' is similar to 'i.e.', but 'i.e.' tends to explain rather than simply to list: The three candidates for the position — i.e. the Director General vacancy — are all on the short list.

See also E.G.; I.E.

voice (active and passive) See 'Active and passive voice' in 'Grammar'. See also PERSON.

volcaniclastic

volcanics, metamorphics, clastics These and similar words are not acceptable in geological writing. Use volcanic rocks, metamorphic rocks, clastic rocks, clastic material, etc. See also CLASTICS; INTRUSIVES.

volcano, volcanoes, volcanism

volcanogenic massive-sulphide deposits

volcano-sedimentary, volcano-sulphide, volcano-tectonic

V-shaped