name meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

name

noun

UK /nɛjm/ · /neɪm/

Etymology

PIE word *h₁nómn̥ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ Proto-Germanic *namô Proto-West Germanic *namō Old English nama Middle English name English name From Middle English name, nome, from Old English nama, noma, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô (“name”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Cognates Germanic Cognates: Yola naame, name, naume (“name”), North Frisian Naam, neem, noome, nööm (“name”), Saterland Frisian Nome, Noome (“name”), West Frisian namme (“name”), Alemannic German Naame, namä, noame, nomu, nàmund (“name”), Cimbrian naamo, name, nåm (“name”), Dutch naam, name (“name”), German Nahme, Name (“name”), German Low German Naam (“name”), Luxembourgish Numm (“name”), Mòcheno nu'm (“name”), Vilamovian noma (“name”), Yiddish נאָמען (nomen, “name”), Danish, Faroese and Norwegian Bokmål navn (“name”), Icelandic nafn (“name”), Norwegian Nynorsk nabn, namn (“name”), Swedish namn (“name”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌼𐍉 (namō, “name”). Indo-European Cognates: Latin nōmen (“name”) (whence Spanish nombre (“name”)), Russian имя (imja, “name”), Ashkun nām (“name”), Kamkata-viri nom, num (“name”), Prasuni nom, nëmë (“name”), Waigali nām (“name”), Sanskrit नामन् (nā́man, “name”). Possible cognates outside of Indo-European include Finnish nimi (“name”) and Hungarian név (“name”). Doublet of nomen and noun.

8 senses

1Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular…
2A reputation.
3An abusive or insulting epithet.
4A person (or legal person).
5Those of a certain name; a race; a family.
6An authority; a behalf.
7An identifier, generally a unique string of characters.
8An investor in Lloyd's of London bearing unlimited liability.

Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.

I've never liked the name my parents gave me so I changed it at the age of twenty.
What's your name? Puddintane. Ask me again and I'll tell you the same.

4 more examples

That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
[…] and whatsoeuer Adam called euery liuing creature, that was the name thereof.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:19:
So good a man as this must surely have a name.1904, L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz:
Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.2013 July-August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist:

A reputation.

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord Is the immediate jewel of their souls.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
The parish stank of idolatry, abominable rites were practiced in secret, and in all the bounds there was no one had a more evil name for the black traffic than one Alison Sempill, who bode at the Skerburnfoot.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

1 more example

And David won a name for himself.1952, Old Testament, Revised Standard Version, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 2 Samuel 8:13

An abusive or insulting epithet.

Stop calling me names!

A person (or legal person).

They list with women each degenerate name.1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
p. 2002, second edition of, 2002, Graham Richards, Putting Psychology in its Place, →ISBN, page 287 http://books.google.com/books?id=7bxvJIs5_wsC&pg=PA287&dq=names Later British psychologists interested in this topic include such major names as Cyril Burt, William McDougall, […] .

2 more examples

Would it be able to fight the competition from ITC Agro Tech and Liptons who were ready and able to commit large resources? With such big names as competitors, would this business be viable for Marico?2008 edition of, 1998, S. B. Budhiraja and M. B. Athreya, Cases in Strategic Management page 79 http://books.google.com/books?id=-IaKYHY0sogC&pg=PA79&dq=names
International non-governmental organisations (INGOs), including such household names as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and […] .2009 third edition of, 1998, Martin Mowforth and Ian Munt, Tourism and Sustainability, page 29 http://books.google.com/books?id=bM6MPBIFwkQC&pg=PA29&dq=names

Those of a certain name; a race; a family.

The ministers of the republic, mortal enemies of his name, came every day to pay their feigned civilities.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

An authority; a behalf.

Halt in the name of the law!
We may be quite sure, therefore, that in some shape, if we, the people of England, tolerate the bloody and sanguinary crimes which are committed in our name, if they are so committed, and we do not remonstrate and condemn, we shall have no acquittal at that tribunal by which the actions, not of individuals only, but of nations and peoples, are finally judged.1881, George Barnett Smith, chapter XVI, in The Life and Speeches of the Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., volume II, London: Hodder and Stroughton, page 541:

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences An identifier, generally a unique string of characters.

Business, Finance UK An investor in Lloyd's of London bearing unlimited liability.

Synonyms: name, nomenclature, proper name
Derived terms: 245 terms
aftername, a God's name, a' God's name, altname, ancestral name, art name, assumed name, baby name, bad name, baptismal name, basename, big-name, binary name, binominal name, bookname, boy's name, brand-name, brand name, bullet with someone's name on it, by-name, by name, by the name of, call-by-name, calling name, call names, call out of one's name, call outta one's name, call someone every name in the book, caressing name, CHARNAME, clear someone's name, coined name, coname, courtesy name, cover name, cybername, danger is one's middle name, dead-name, dead name, dead-naming, death-name, dename, domain name server, domain name service, era name, fleetname, folk name, font name, friendly name, front name, full name, generic name, genus name, girl's name, give a bad name, give a dog a bad name and hang him, give name to, go by the name of, golden falcon name, Golden Horus name, gold name, good name, government name, grex name, have one's name in the Gazette, have one's name on, have one's name taken, have one's name written all over, Horus name, Horus of Gold name, hostname, ill name, impure name, in all but name, in God's name, in heaven's name, in hell's name, in name, international nonproprietary name, in the name of, in the name of all that is holy, in the name of heaven, in the name of the law, is my middle name, it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right, IUPAC name, jobname, Latin name, lead name, legal name, letters after one's name, little name, long file name, make a name for oneself, maker's name, man with no name, married name, my name is, nameability, nameable, name-based type system, name-bearing type, name binding, nameboard, name board, namebook, name brand, name-call, name-caller, name-calling, name card, name change, namechanger, namecheck, name-child, name day, name-drop, name drop, namedropper, name dropper, name-dropper, name-dropping, name dropping, namee, namefag, namefellow, name for, name is mud, nameless, name-letter effect, nameling, name names, name of the game, name one's poison, name part, namepiece, nameplate, name plate, nameplay, namer, name reaction, name-sake, namesake, namescape, namesearch, name server, name sign, namesign, namesmanship, namespace, nametag, nametape, name the day, name to conjure with, name vase, namevoter, namevoting, namewise, nameword, nameworthy, NATO reporting name, Nebty name, netname, new name, new-name, newname, no-name, nonname, occupational name, on a first-name basis, one's name is mud, on first-name terms, overname, pass-by-name, pathname, pen-name, pet name, phonetic name, phrase name, place name, place-name, placename, porn star name, posthumous name, praise name, preoccupied name, pure name, purser's name, put a name to, put one's name in the hat, radicofunctional name, regnal name, ring name, run one's name, screen name, screenname, second name, self-name, selfname, self name, serekh name, Seth name, short file name, sign name, slave name, smush name, species name, specific name, spell one's name, spell someone's name, street name, subname, subspecific name, Sunday name, syndrome without a name, systematic element name, take someone's name in vain, tee-name, temple name, ternary name, three-name, throne name, throw one's name in the hat, to name a few, to one's name, toss one's name in the hat, tradename, trivial name, Two Ladies name, two-name paper, user name, virtue name, wallet name, webname, what is her name, what is his name, what is your name, what's-his-name, what's in a name, what's-its-name, what's your name, why in God's name, word name, workname, your good name
Related terms: alias, anonymous, appellation, cognomen, namely, nom de guerre, nom de plume, nominal, pseudonym
Hypernyms: term
Hyponyms: 70 terms
adoption name, baptismal name, big name, binomial name, birth name, botanical name, byname, chosen name, christen name, Christian name, code name, codename, common name, confirmation name, deadname, domain name, facet name, family name, filename, file name, first name, forename, given name, honor name, household name, last name, login name, maiden name, middle name, NATO reporting name, nicholas-name, nickname, pen name, personal name, prename, protected name, scientific name, skin name, special name, stage name, style name, surname, systematic name, taxonomic name, to-name, trade name, trail name, true name, username, valid name, vernacular name, zoological name, full name, alias, anonym, appellation, autonym, cognomen, designation, epithet, hypocorism, moniker, nom de guerre, nom de plume, pet name, pseudonym, sobriquet, street name, anthroponym, label

name

verb

Etymology From Middle English namen, from Old English namian (“to name, mention”) and ġenamian (“to name, call, appoint”), from Proto-West Germanic *namōn (“to name”). Cognate with West Frisian neame (“to name; to mention”). Compare also Old English nemnan, nemnian (“to name, give a name to a person or thing”).

7 senses

1To give a name to.
2To mention, specify.
3To identify as relevant or important
4To publicly implicate by name.
5To disclose the name of.
6To designate for a role.
7To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of…

To give a name to.

One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting.
I will name the fellow 'Jack Pumpkinhead!'1904, L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz:

1 more example

A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

To mention, specify.

He named his demands.
You name it!

2 more examples

You have to pot the ball in the pocket you've named.
The three countries were named in a new study from the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO.2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2019:

To identify as relevant or important

naming the problem

To publicly implicate by name.

The painter was named as an accomplice.

Of a person To disclose the name of.

Police are not naming the suspect as he is a minor.

To designate for a role.

My neighbor was named to the steering committee.

Government, Politics Westminster system To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct.

I must warn the Right Honourable gentleman, that if he persists in his refusal to comply with my order to withdraw [the words "deliberately deceptive"], I shall be compelled to name him.2013 July 10, John (Speaker of the House of Commons) Bercow, (Please provide the book title or journal name), to MP Nigel Dodds:

Synonyms: bename, designate, dub, nominate
Derived terms: bename, codename, misname, my very easy method just speeds up naming planets, name after, name and shame, name names, outname, rename, to be named later, unname, you name it
Related terms: christen, epithet, moniker, sobriquet

name

noun

/n(j)ɑmeɪ/

Etymology Borrowed from Spanish ñame, substituting n for the unfamiliar Spanish letter ñ. Doublet of yam.

Any of several types of true yam (Dioscorea) used in Caribbean Spanish cooking.

Synonyms: cush-cush, greater yam

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