Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,905,891,771 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Onomastics
(redirected from onomastic)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
Onomastics 

(1) In linguistics, the study of proper names and their origin, as well as the changes that they undergo as a result of long use in the source language or in connection with their borrowing into other languages.

(2) Proper names of various types (onomastic lexicon), which, in accordance with the objects designated, are divided into an-throponymy (study of personal names), toponymy (place-names), “zoonymy” (in Russian, zoonimiia; proper names of animals), “astronymy” (astronimiia; names of stars), “cosmonymy”(kosmonimiia; names of the zones and parts of the universe), “theonymy” (teonimiia; names of gods), and so on.

Onomastic research helps elucidate the routes of migration and places of former settlement of different peoples, as well as the linguistic and cultural contacts of these peoples. Onomastics is also useful in determining the older states of languages and the relationships of their dialects. Toponymy, especially hydro-nymy, is frequently the sole source of information on extinct languages and peoples.

REFERENCES

Chichagov, V. K. Iz istorii russkikh imen, otchestv i familii. Moscow, 1959.
Tashitskii, V.“Mesto onomastiki sredi drugikh gumanitarnykh nauk.” Voprosy iazykoznaniia, 1961, no. 2.
Superanskaia, A. V. Obshchaia teoriia imeni sobstvennogo. Moscow, 1973.
Bach, A. Deutsche Namenkunde, vols. 1–3. Heidelberg, 1952–56.
Gardiner, A. The Theory of Proper Names, 2nd ed. London, 1957.

A. V. SUPERANSKAIA



Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
As in the examples of onomastic strategies listed above, there are those who avoid saying the name and use euphemisms out of fear of attracting attention or causing insult; those who specifically say the name to show they are not afraid or superstitious, or who use a different name to deny evil's powers; and those who use a flattering form of address to demonstrate their close and privileged relationship with the evil one.
A few days ago, Mike Morton emailed me a message about the onomastic drama unfolding in the highest doghouse in the land: "I hear the new White House dog is named Bo.
Others cite the onomastic similarity between the priests, Miguel Martinez in history, Manuel Mandujano in the novel.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.