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Saturday, October 12, 2024

In other words, -onyms to let

  • acronym, noun. A word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words and pronounced as a separate word (e.g., scuba, from “self contained underwater breathing apparatus”).
  • allonym, noun. The name of another person taken by an author as a pen name (cf. pseudonym).
  • anonym, noun. An assumed or false name.
  • antonym, noun. A word that has an opposite or nearly opposite as another word.
  • autonym, noun. The name that an ethnic, racial, or social group uses for itself or its language; a person’s real name.
  • cryptonym, noun. A secret name or word; a code name or code word.
  • demonym, noun. A name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place that is derived from the name of the place.
  • endonym, noun. The name used to refer to a place by its inhabitants, as opposed to a name used by foreigners (cf. autonym, demonym, and toponym).
  • eponym, noun. A person, real or imaginary, from whom a place or thing takes or is said to take its name; a word based on or derived from a person’s name.
  • exonym, noun. A name used by outsiders for a place; a name used by outsiders to refer to an ethnic, racial, or social group or its language that the group itself does not use (contrast endonym).
  • heteronym, noun. A word spelled the same as another but having a different pronunciation and meaning (e.g., lead, to conduct; and lead, a metal).
  • homonym, noun. A word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not (e.g., heir and air).
  • metonym, noun. A word or phrase used in a figure of speech in which the name of one object or concept is used for that of another to which it is related (e.g., the bottle for strong drink).
  • -onym. A combining form of Greek origin, meaning “word,” “name”(e.g., homonym, pseudonym).
  • oronym, noun. A sequence of words that sounds the same when pronounced as a different sequence of words (e.g., “ice cream” and “I scream”).
  • paronym, noun. A word containing the same root or stem (e.g. wise and wisdom).
  • pseudonym, noun. A fictitious name used especially by an author to conceal their identity; pen name (cf. allonym).
  • synonym, noun. A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.
  • tautonym, noun. (Biology) A scientific name in which the generic and the specific names are the same (e.g., Chloris chloris).
  • theonym, noun. The proper name of a deity (from Greek theos, Θεός, meaning ‘god’; and onoma, ὄνομα, meaning ‘name’).
  • toponym, noun. A placename; a name derived from the name of a place.
  • z-nym, noun. A name starting with “z” (just kidding, not a real word).

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