name

See also: Appendix:Variations of "name"

English

WOTD – 6 May 2006

Etymology 1

PIE word
*h₁nómn̥

From Middle English name, nome, from Old English nama, noma, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥.

Cognates include Saterland Frisian Noome, West Frisian namme, Dutch naam, German Name, Danish navn, Swedish namn, Latin nōmen (whence Spanish nombre), Russian имя (imja), Sanskrit नामन् (nāman). Possible cognates outside of Indo-European include Finnish nimi and Hungarian név. Doublet of nomen and noun.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: nām, IPA(key): /neɪm/
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪm

Noun

name (plural names)

  1. Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
    Synonyms: proper name; see also Thesaurus:name
    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.
  2. Reputation.
    • 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]:
      Good name in man and woman, dear my lord
      Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      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.
    • 1952, Old Testament, Revised Standard Version, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 2 Samuel 8:13:
      And David won a name for himself.
  3. An abusive or insulting epithet.
    Stop calling me names!
  4. A person (or legal person).
    • 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:
      They list with women each degenerate name.
    • p. 2002, second edition of, 2002, Graham Richards, Putting Psychology in its Place, →ISBN, page 287 
      Later British psychologists interested in this topic include such major names as Cyril Burt, William McDougall, [] .
    • 2008 edition of, 1998, S. B. Budhiraja and M. B. Athreya, Cases in Strategic Management, →ISBN page 79 :
      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?
    • 2009 third edition of, 1998, Martin Mowforth and Ian Munt, Tourism and Sustainability, →ISBN, page 29 :
      International non-governmental organisations (INGOs), including such household names as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and [] .
  5. Those of a certain name; a race; a family.
  6. Authority; behalf.
    Halt in the name of the law!
    • 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:
      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.
  7. (computing) A unique identifier, generally a string of characters.
  8. (UK, finance) An investor in Lloyd's of London bearing unlimited liability.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Derived terms of name that are not hyponyms
Descendants
  • Sranan Tongo: nen
  • Japanese: ネーム (nēmu)
Translations
See also

References

Etymology 2

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

Verb

name (third-person singular simple present names, present participle naming, simple past and past participle named)

  1. (ditransitive) To give a name to.
    One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting.
    (file)
    • 1904, L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz:
      I will name the fellow 'Jack Pumpkinhead!'
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      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.
  2. (transitive) To mention, specify.
    He named his demands.
    You name it!
    You have to pot the ball in the pocket you've named.
    • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 7 February 2019:
      The three countries were named in a new study from the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO.
      (file)
  3. (transitive) To identify as relevant or important
    naming the problem
  4. (transitive) To publicly implicate by name.
    The painter was named as an accomplice.
  5. (transitive, of a person) To disclose the name of.
    Police are not naming the suspect as he is a minor.
  6. (transitive) To designate for a role.
    Synonym: nominate
    My neighbor was named to the steering committee.
  7. (transitive, Westminster system politics) To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct.
    • 2013 July 10, John (Speaker of the House of Commons) Bercow, (Please provide the book title or journal name), to MP Nigel Dodds:
      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.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from name (verb)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

Etymology 3

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

Alternative forms

Noun

name (plural names)

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

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Noun

name

  1. plural of naam

Central Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit नामन् (nāman). Cognate with English name.

Noun

name

  1. name

References

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German name, from Old High German namo.

Noun

name ?

  1. (Tredici Comuni) name

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

name

  1. (dated or formal) singular past subjunctive of nemen

Noun

name

  1. (archaic) dative singular of naam

Anagrams

Eastern Arrernte

Noun

name

  1. grass

References

Japanese

Romanization

name

  1. Rōmaji transcription of なめ

Lithuanian

Noun

name m

  1. locative singular of namas
  2. vocative singular of namas

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch namo.

Noun

nāme m or f

  1. name
  2. fame, reputation
Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms
Descendants

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *nāma, from Proto-Germanic *nēmō.

Noun

nâme f

  1. taking
  2. receiving
Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants
  • Dutch: name (mostly in compounds)

Further reading

  • name”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “name (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
  • Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “name (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English nama, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈnaːm(ə)/

Noun

name (plural names or namen)

  1. name

Descendants

References

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian نامه (nâme).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɑːˈmɛ/

Noun

name f

  1. letter (a document)

Pali

Alternative forms

Verb

name

  1. singular optative active of namati (to bend)

Volapük

Noun

name

  1. dative singular of nam

Yola

Noun

name

  1. Alternative form of naame
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 6-7:
      wi vengem o' core t'gie oure zense o' ye gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name;
      to pour forth from the strength of our hearts, our sense of the qualities which characterise your name,
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 8-9:
      wee hert ee zough o'ye colure o' pace na name o' Mulgrave.
      we heard the distant sound of the wings of the dove of peace, in the word Mulgrave.

References

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 114

Zazaki

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *Hnā́ma, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hnā́ma, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɔːme/

Noun

name (nam)

  1. name
  2. reputation
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