Paynym

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A reusable public identifier that lets someone receive bitcoin payments without publishing a new address for each transaction
2. A reusable payment code in certain Bitcoin wallet systems that lets senders derive fresh addresses for a recipient
3. The shareable, reusable Bitcoin payment identity used under the BIP47 standard to send funds privately and repeatedly

Etymology: A Late Latin term for a country dweller became, through a religious shift, the root of a medieval insult. "Paganus" originally meant a rural person or civilian, someone who was not a soldier. Christian writers later applied it to rustic folk who kept older religious customs, and the sense widened to cover all non-Christians. Old French turned this into "paien" and "paienime," meaning a heathen or the heathen faith. Middle English borrowed the form as "paynim" or, in some manuscripts, "paynym." In medieval romances and chronicles it was used mostly for Muslims, especially in crusading contexts, so it became a broad label for outsiders to Christendom. It is now archaic and survives mainly in older literature.