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

(Greek: name; word)

onymously
onymy
organonym
The technical name of a body organ or the nomenclature of bodily organs.
organonymal
organonymic
The technical name of a bodily organ.
organonymy
oronym (s) (noun), oronyms (pl)
Sentences that can be read in two ways with the same sounds; also called, "mondegreens or junctures: "A simple example of an oronym would be the sentences: The sons raise meat; heard as: The sun's rays meet."

Mistakenly hearing an oronym in a song or poem instead of the actual text is referred to as a mondegreen.

Examples of oronyms

The stuffy nose can lead to problems.
The stuff he knows can lead to problems.
Where is the spice center?
Where is the spy center?
Are you aware of the words you have just uttered?
Are you aware of the word you have just stuttered?
That's the biggest hurdle I've ever seen.
That's the biggest turtle I've ever seen.
I'm taking a nice cold shower.
I'm taking an ice cold shower.
Reading in the library is sometimes allowed.
Reading in the library is sometimes aloud.
You'd be surprised to see a mint spy in your bank.
You'd be surprised to see a mince pie in your bank.
—Examples presented by Gyles Brandreth in his, The Joy of Lex,
William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1980; Pages 58 and 59.

Additional examples of oronyms

The boy saw some grey pants.
The boy saw some grape ants.
She was thinking how cleaning's tough.
She was thinking how cleaning stuff.
paronym
1. A word from the same root, and usually a similar pronunciation, as another; such as, "beautiful" and "beauteous".
2. Words which are almost homonyms, but have slight differences in spelling and have different meanings.
3. Having a similar sound, but different orthography and different meaning; said of certain words, as "all" and "awl"; "hair" and "hare".
4. Having the same derivation; said of certain words; such as, "man", "mankind", "manhood", etc.
5. Containing the same root or stem; such as, the words "wise" and "wisdom".

Other examples:

  • "alternately" and "alternatively"
  • "affect" and "effect"
  • "collision" and "collusion"
  • "conjuncture" and "conjecture"
  • "continuous" and "contiguous"
  • "farther" and "further"
  • "farthest" and "furthest"
paronymic
A descriptive word for paronym; such as, a word from the same root, and usually a similar pronunciation, as another; such as, "beautiful" and "beauteous".
paronymous
A reference to a personal or family name derived from the name of a father or ancestor, especially by the addition of a suffix or prefix indicating descent.
paronymy
patronym
A description of a name derived from a male (father) ancestor’s name; especially, one that adds a prefix, e.g., "Mac-", or a suffix, e.g., "-son" to the earlier name.

Another example is the Russian "-vich" which is attached to Ivan and so becomes “Ivanovich” (son of Ivan).

patronymic
A reference to patronym, or a name derived from a male (father) ancestor’s name; especially, one that adds a prefix; for example, "Mac-", or a suffix; such as, "-son" to an earlier name.
patronymically
Another descriptive reference to patronym, or name elements which present masculine elements to a family name; such as, "-son" to "Johnson".
pecilonym, poecilonym
1. The simultaneous use of several names or synonyms for one thing.
2. One of various names for the same thing; a synonym for having a variety of names.

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


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