Anatomy of "Surface waves"

The triple quotation marks in the title and elsewhere in this paper indicate that the enclosed words are used to denote the wave types enumerated in Table L The purpose of the paper is to call attention to the fact that as a group these wave types have no important physical properties in common. Calling these wave types by the same name, even with qualifying adjectives, encourages one to assume that the most significant physical properties of one wave type are shared by other wave types. This has caused, and will continue to cause, we believe, serious misunderstandings. It is strongly urged that this loose use of words be abandoned. Another solution is possible. We could wait until everyone realizes that the term '"surface waves'" has become devoid of significant meaning and that it is equivalent to just "that thing."