onomastics

[prettygoodword]

onomastics - n., the study of the forms and origins of proper names.


The more common form of the word is onomasticon, a dictionary of names. The root, onuma, is the source of the suffix -nym, as in pseudonym.

---L.

Comments

Onomastics

[flw.livejournal.com]

I always thought onomasticon was a list of names in the sense of...

...I'm keeping a list, of names, and when the Revolution comes, you better hope you ain't on my list, mister. But it is more along the lines of those books of baby names, then?

Re: Onomastics

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

More on the latter, though you can probably stretch the meaning to include the former. Cf. this discussion (http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ono2.htm) and this Analytical Onomasticon (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/wlm/analyticalonomasticon/) (one of the most useful study guides to Ovid's Metamorphoses I've met).

---L.

Onomastics

[paulakate.livejournal.com]

Onomastics is a fun way to quickly understand how languages (and especially sounds) evolve. I have always found it fascinating that Ivan and Juan would be spelled the same way in Latin - and look how divergent their English pronunciations are!

pk

Re: Onomastics

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Not to mention Sean.

---L.