onomasticon

Definition

A book, list, or vocabulary of names, especially of people.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικόν (onomastikón), neuter form of ὀνομαστικός (onomastikós, “belonging to names”), from ὀνομάζω (onomázō, “I name”), from ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”). The term onomastikón (collection of names, from ὄνομα/ónoma, ‘name’) describes learned works that are not arranged alphabetically but juxtapose synonyms and terms relating to the same semantic field. This principle of ordering is very old (it was already known in Near Eastern culture in the 2nd millennium BC; Lists) and undoubtedly was the most common one up to the Augustan period. Source: Onomastikon — Brill

Example Sentences

• "We looked up the origin of her name in an onomasticon."

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