onomastics (n.)

"scientific study of names and naming," by 1930, from onomastic; also see -ics.

Entries linking to onomastics

"of, pertaining to, or consisting of a name," 1716, from French onomastique (17c.), from Greek onomastikos "of or belonging to naming," from onomastos "named," verbal adjective of onomazein "to name," from onoma "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name").

-ics

in the names of sciences or disciplines (acoustics, aerobics, economics, etc.), a 16c. revival of the classical custom of using the neuter plural of adjectives with Greek -ikos "pertaining to" (see -ic) to mean "matters relevant to" and also as the titles of treatises about them. Subject matters that acquired their English names before c. 1500, however, tend to be singular in form (arithmetic, logic, magic, music, rhetoric). The grammatical number of words in -ics (mathematics is/mathematics are) is a confused question.

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updated on September 08, 2019

Definitions of onomastics from WordNet

onomastics (n.)

the branch of lexicology that studies the forms and origins of proper names;

From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

Dictionary entries near onomastics

online

onlooker

only

onnagata

onomastic

onomastics

onomatology

onomatopoeia

onomatopoeic

Onondaga

onrush