According to dictionary.com, “The ending -nym or, most often, -onym is a combining form from Greek that means “name.”” Most people are familiar with words like synonym, pseudonym, etc. The other day I saw one I had never heard of, so I did a very little bit of research and found some interesting ones.
- Exonym
- The name of a country assigned by people who don’t live there. (Germany, Japan)
- Endonym
- The name of a country decided by the people who DO live there. (Deutchland, Nippon, Nihon)
- Demonym
- What you call people from a place. (German, der Deutsche (male, singular) or die Deutsche (female, singular). Collectively, the people are called die Deutschen.)
- Eponym
- A person after whom a discovery, invention, or place is named. You may also have heard of eponymous music albums, Led Zeppelin’s first album was titled “Led Zeppelin”
- Toponym
- A place name. Baton Rouge (red stick) Louisiana is named for the red poles that French explorers found there.
- Allonym
- The name of another person taken by an author. A pseudonym is a made up name, whereas an allonym is someone else’s real name.
- Ananym
- A name written backward. When I make local WordPress installs, my password is usually ‘rehpot’
- Aptronym
- A person’s name regarded as fitting to their occupation. They’re aptly named. Some real examples: Dr. Pain: Oral surgeon, Dr. Finger: Urologist, Dr. Katt: Veterinarian for cats, Dr. Stork: Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Dr. Bonebreak: Orthodontist,
- Backronym
- A phrase coined to fit an existing word, like the USA PATRIOT Act, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and the AMBER Alert.
- Contronym
- A word with two opposite meanings. Fast: Moving rapidly or firmly fixed in place (hold fast).
- Heteronym
- Words spelled the same but have different meanings and pronunciations. Close, bass, dove.
- Retronym
- A term for an old object that is modified to differentiate it from a newer version (e.g., landline).
There are lots more in this post from Dictionary.com.
