Onomastics

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˌɒ.nəʊˈmæs.tɪks/
• US IPA: /ˌɑː.noʊˈmæs.tɪks/, /ˌɑː.nəˈmæs.tɪks/

Origin

1936, preceded by adjective onomastic ("of or belonging to naming") (1716), from French onomastique, from Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικός, from ὀνομαστός ("named"), form of ὀνομάζω ("I name"), from ὄνομα (onoma, "name"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nh₃mn̥ ("name") (English name).

Online Etymology Dictionary

Full definition of onomastics

Noun

1. The branch of lexicology devoted to the study of names and naming, especially the origins of names.

Synonyms

• onomatology

Related terms

• onomastic
• onomastician
• onomasticon

Hypernyms

• lexicology
• etymology in sense of “origins”

Hyponyms

• anthroponymy
• toponymy

Derived terms