Nym

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A suffix used to denote a type of name, particularly in linguistics
2. a component of compound words that refers to naming or designation
3. a term or element involved in the study of names and naming conventions

Etymology: The word "-nym" is a combining form, a word-ending element meaning "name," and it turns up in familiar terms like "synonym," "antonym" and "pseudonym." It comes from Greek "onoma," meaning "name," which also gave English words such as "onomastics," the study of names. In the Greek compounds where it appeared, the element was always the final part, so a "synonym" was literally a "same name" and an "antonym" an "opposite name." Because it is a suffix rather than a free-standing word, its meaning is best understood by its role: it marks a term that names or relates to a name in a particular way. Modern scientists and lexicographers have added many new coinages with this ending, such as "toponym" for a place name and "eponym" for a name taken from a person, which shows how a classical building block can keep being reused in English long after the original Greek was forgotten.

Synonyms: nymph, nymphling