Standard Lemma guide

onomasticon

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɒ.nəʊˈmæs.tɪ.kən/
  • US: /ˌɑː.noʊˈmæs.tɪkən/
  • US: /ˌɑː.nəˈmæs.tɪkən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a list of proper nouns naming persons or places

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wordbook

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1nómn̥ Proto-Graeco-Phrygian *ónomã Proto-Indo-European *h1nómn̥ Proto-Hellenic *ónomə Ancient Greek ὄνομᾰ (ónomă) Ancient Greek -ᾰ́ζω (-ắzō) Ancient Greek ὀνομάζω (onomázō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Ancient Greek -τις (-tis) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τῐκός (-tĭkós) Ancient Greek ὀνομᾰστῐκός (onomăstĭkós) Ancient Greek ὀνομᾰστῐκόν (onomăstĭkón) English onomasticon 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

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: onomàsticon — lexicon of personal names
  • Czech: onomastikon — lexicon of personal names
  • Macedonian: ономастикон (onomastikon) — lexicon of personal names
  • Polish: onomastykon — lexicon of personal names
  • Slovak: onomastikon — lexicon of personal names
  • Slovene: onomástikon — lexicon of personal names