nom-, nomen-, nomin-, -nomia, -nomic

(Latin: name)

Don't confuse this element with the Greek nomo- which means "law"; or with nomo- meaning "meadow, pasture" and by extension, "acute ulcerative process" and "gangrene".

interdenominational (adjective), more interdenominational, most interdenominational
Referring to or involving different religious groups.
isophenomenal (s) (noun), isophenomenals (pl)
About a line on a map, connecting places at which phenomena of any kind are equal.
Joannes est nomen ejus.
John is his name.

Motto of the Territory of Puerto Rico.

lethonomia (s) (noun), lethonomias (pl)
1. A tendency to forget the names of even those people someone has known for years:'s: The elderly Mrs. Wright's husband noticed that she couldn't recall his name at all, so after seeing Dr. Smith, she was diagnosed with lethonomia.
2. The inability to recall the right name for objects: Mr. Hathaway was 95 years old and was identified as having a case of lethonomia because he had great difficulty in naming the items shown on the chart in Dr. Black's office. .
misnomer (s) (noun), misnomers (pl)
A wrong or unsuitable name to describe something or someone: The term "International Airport" is considered to be a misnomer by some people in Jane's town, because almost all of the arriving and departing flights are usually local.

In the military services, the term "gun" is considered to be a misnomer for "rifle".

A wrong name.
© ALL rights are reserved.

A wrong name.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Used wrong name.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more Mickey Bach illustrations.

name (s), names (pl) (nouns)
1. A word or expression that refers to or which can refer to a specific person, place, or thing: "She was asked to sign her first and last name on the line."

"He has one of the most famous names in the world."

2. A word or phrase that refers to a specific place in the world or a particular thing: "The students were required to learn all of the names of countries that belong to the European Union."
3. A term or words that are used to describe or to insult somebody: "The girl was crying because the boy at school was calling her dirty names."
4. Etymology: from Old English nama, from Proto-Germanic namon and possibly Greek onoma, onyma, and Latin nomen; plus many other language sources.
nomancy, onomancy (s) (noun) (no pl)
Divination by the letters of a name: Onomancy is known to assess the number of vowels in a name, or to interpret the sum of the numerical value of the letters.
nomen conservandum (s), nomina conservanda (pl)
1. A biological taxonomic name that is preserved by special sanction in exception to the usual rules.
2. A taxon name that has been formally accepted under the International Code for botanical nomenclature as the correct name contrary to the usual principles of botanical nomenclature.

A taxon (s), or taxa (pl), is a group of genetically similar organisms that are classified together as a species, genus, family, etc.

nomen dubium (s), nomina dubia (pl)
In zoological nomenclature, a name which describes a fossil with no unique diagnostic features, and which therefore can not accurately be assigned a classification.
nomen nudum (s), nomina nuda (pl)
A Latin term, meaning "naked name".

In taxonomy, this refers to a term or phrase which looks like a scientific name, and may well have been intended to become a scientific name, but fails to be one because it was not published with an adequate description, and so is "bare" or "naked" name.

Since a nomen nudum fails to qualify as a formal scientific name, a later author may publish a valid scientific name which is identical in spelling. If the same author publishes a name first as a nomen nudum and then later if it is accompanied by a valid description, the date of publication of the last valid description will become the taxon's date of establishment.

nomen oblitum
In zoological nomenclature, a name which has not been used in the scientific community for more than fifty years after its original proposal, and which has been replaced by a more recent name in common use.

A nomen oblitum comes from Latin, "forgotten name" and it is a technical term, used in zoology.

In its present meaning, it came into existence with the fourth, 1999, edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

After January 1, 2000, a scientific name could be formally declared to be a nomen oblitum if it had not been used in the scientific community since 1899, and when it was either a senior synonym or a homonym; that is, spelled the same as another name, which is in common use.

nomen rejectum
Besides conservation of a name, the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) also offers the option of rejection of a name, creating a nomen rejectum (rejected name) that cannot be used anymore. Rejection is possible for a name at any rank.
nomenclate
To assign a name or names to someone or to something; to call by a certain name.
nomenclative
Concerned with, or relating to, the action of naming.
nomenclator
1. A servant or dependent whose business it was to inform his master or patron of the names of persons, especially when engaged in canvassing for office.
2. A steward or usher who assigned or indicated the places of guests at a banquet.
3. One who announces, or imparts to another, the names of persons or guests.
4. One who gives a name to, or invents a designation for, something: specifically, one who classifies natural objects under appropriate designations.

Related "name" units: onomato-; -onym.