Word of the Day

: July 16, 2007

onomastics

noun ah-nuh-MAS-tiks

What It Means

1 a : the science or study of the origins and forms of words especially as used in a specialized field

b : the science or study of the origin and forms of proper names of persons or places

2 : the system underlying the formation and use of words especially for proper names or of words used in a specialized field

onomastics in Context

Dr. Donn will be presenting a paper at the conference on the onomastics used in naming towns during the early Republic.

Did You Know?

The original word for the science of naming was "onomatology," which was adopted from French in the mid-19th century. About a century later, however, people began referring to the science as "onomastics," a term based on the Greek verb "onomazein" ("to name"). Like many sciences, onomastics is itself composed of special divisions. An onomastician might, for example, study personal names or place names, names of a specific region or historical period, or even the character names of a particular author, like Charles Dickens.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.