-onym, -onymy, -onymic, -onymically, -onymous, -onymously, -nym

(Greek: name; word)

charactonym (s) (noun), charactonyms (pl)
A term given to a literary character that is descriptive of a quality or physical trait of the person: "Long John Silver" is a charactonym for someone who is tall and has silver hair.
consonym (s) (noun), consonyms (pl)
One of two or more words with the same consonant pattern; such as, macroevolutionary and microevolutionary; spectrophotometer and spectrophotometry.

Each pair of words has seventeen consonants with the same consonant patterns.

contranym, contronym (s) (noun); contranyms, contronyms (pl)
1. Any word which can be its own counter application.
2. A word that generates two opposite meanings.

More popularly, they are known as Janus-faced words because the Greek god Janus had two faces which looked in opposite directions.

"The moon is visible tonight."
"The lights in the old house are always invisible."

Although the two italicized words are opposite in meaning, both can be replaced by the same word out. When the moon or sun or stars are out, they are visible; and when the lights are out, they are invisible; therefore, out is considered a contronym.

—"Naming the nyms", by Richard Lederer (from http://wordsmith.org/awad; December 14, 2001).

An additional example includes: "cleave", meaning "adhere" and "separate".

cryptonym (s) (noun), cryptonyms (pl)
A private or secret name.
cryptonymic (adjective), more cryptonymic, most cryptonymic
A reference to, or a description of, a private or secret name: Many spies are only known by their cryptonymic names for security reasons.
cryptonymous (adjective), more cryptonymous, most cryptonymous
A reference to a name that is concealed or is hidden from others.
demonym (s) (noun), demonyms (pl)
A word that indicates the members of a people or the inhabitants of a country.

In English, the name of a people's language is often the same as this word; such as, the "French" (which refers to the language and/or the people).

dionym (s) (noun), dionyms (pl)
A name consisting of two terms (as the names in zoology or botany, the two terms of which respectively indicate the genus and species).
dionymal
domunym
Home name, used to identify people from particular places: Philadelphians, Annapolitans, Texans, Americans, Germans, etc.
eponym
1. Someone who gives, or is supposed to give, his/her name to a people, place, or institution; e.g. among the Greeks, the heroes who were looked upon as ancestors or founders of tribes or cities. Also in Latin form eponymus.
2. A name from which another name or word is derived; such as, "sandwich" coming from The Earl of Sandwich and "Rome" which is derived from Romulus.
3. The name of a method, test, etc., which is based on the name of a person connected with it in some way.
eponymic
1. Being or relating to or bearing the name of an eponym.
2. A reference to something named after someone.

For example, a condition called Sherman's syndrome might be named after someone named Sherman, who discovered it, or described and clearly delineated it.

eponymist
A real or legendary person whose name has been used as an eponym.
eponymous
1. A person from whose name the name of a city, family, nation, disease, etc., is derived.
2. One who gives, or is supposed to give, his name to a people, place, or institution; e.g. among the Greeks, the heroes who were looked upon as ancestors or founders of tribes or cities.
3. Any ancient official whose name was used to designate his year of office.
eponymy
1. Derivation of a name of a city, country, era, institution, or other place or thing from that of a person.
2. The name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item.

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


Related "word, words" units: etym-; legi-; lexico-; locu-; logo-; onomato-; verbo-.