onomastics

[ on-uh-mas-tiks ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the study of the origin, history, and use of proper names.

onomastics

/ ˌɒnəˈmæstɪks /

noun

1. functioning as singular the study of proper names, esp of their origins
2. functioning as singular or plural a systematization of the facts about how proper names are formed in a given language

Other Words From

• on·o·mas·ti·cian [on-, uh, -m, uh, -, stish, -, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of onomastics¹

First recorded in 1930–35; onomastic, -ics

Example Sentences

In case you are wondering, this fact and others make up part of an entire field called “onomastics.”

From New York Times

I studied a branch of linguistics called onomastics, which involves the history and origin of proper names.

From New York Times

Parents following larger cultural trends when looking for baby names is nothing new, says Cleveland Evans, a former president of the American Name Society, an group that promotes onomastics, the academic study of proper names.

From Time

But sociologists and experts in onomastics, the study of names, said the diminishment of nicknames is not exclusive to famous athletes.

From New York Times

We are as yet so imperfectly acquainted with the onomastics of the nations surrounding the Semites that it is hazardous to attempt to locate these people.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• jargon
• language
• lingo
• phrasing
• vocabulary