Meaning

A term which derives from a proper name (proper noun), such as brand name (genericized trademark), a given name or surname (eponym), or a place name (toponym)..

Definitions by Sense

1. A term which derives from a proper name (proper noun), such as brand name (genericized trademark), a given name or surname (eponym), or a place name (toponym).
2. Synonym of theonym.

Example Sentences

[…] increased occurrence of deonyms. Among them, nearly half come from trade names (company names, brand names or product names). This chapter aims to study deonyms deriving from trade names.

In linguistics, such terms that have managed the transformation from a proper brand name to a generic name are called deonyms […] The field of deonyms is not limited to brand names: The verb “röntgen,” for example, is derived from the discoverer of the rays named after him and is also a deonym.

A third name for common words from proper nouns is the lexical type deonyms (with the study of deonyms referred to as deonomastics) (cf., e.g., La Stella 1984). For this chapter, eponym shall be defined as 'word going back to a proper noun (e.g. anthroponym, toponym, ethnonym)'.

A similar phenomenon occurs often, and also in connection with old Celtic toponyms which, if deonyms, were often suppressed by the growing might of the Church, […] [these other] deonyms serve to prove the Pelasgians spoke an Indo-European language far[…]

It is a known fact that many Greek deonyms are not based [on] Hellenic roots (just as the oldest Sumerian place and river [name]s are neither Sumerian nor Semitic […]

The Anglo-Saxon root Tues is related to the Teutonic deonym Tiwas, in turn related to the Latin Deus, the Baltic Dievas, and the Sanskrit Deva.

Word Forms

• deonyms

Synonyms for deonym

Related Words

When Should You Use Deonym?

Use deonym when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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