pseudonym
nounUK /ˈs(j)uː.də(ʊ).nɪm/ · US /ˈsu.də.nɪm/
Etymology Back-formation from pseudonymous, from French pseudonyme (“pseudonymous”, adjective), from Ancient Greek ψευδώνυμος (pseudṓnumos), from ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false”) and ὄνυμα (ónuma), a dialectal form of ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”). By surface analysis, pseudo- + -onym.
1
A fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie stars.
- The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.
- I doubt, indeed, whether I should not abandon the struggle altogether—leave this sad world of ordinary life for which I am so ill fitted, abandon the name of Cummins for some professional pseudonym, complete my self-effacement, and—a thing of tricks and tatters, of posing and pretence—go upon the stage.c. 1911, H. G. Wells, The Obliterated Man:
2 more examples
- The best example of its literary use so far are the German novel The Golem, by Gustav Meyrink, and the drama The Dybbuk, by the jewish writer using the pseudonym "Ansky".1928, H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature:
- “I, at first, tried to say, ‘Well, maybe it was an accident. Maybe it got stuck in a printer.’ That was my first thought,” Parker, who requested to go by a pseudonym due to fear of retaliation, tells Them.2025 March 3, Nico Lang, ““Simply Trying to Exist”: How Trans Americans Are Navigating the Confusion and Chaos of Trump’s Passport Policy”, in Them, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2025:
- Derived terms
- pseudonymic, pseudonymisation, pseudonymise, pseudonymiser, pseudonymity, pseudonymization, pseudonymize, pseudonymized, pseudonymizer, pseudonymous, pseudonymously, pseudonymousness
- Related terms
- codename, dysphemism, euphemism, nom de code