"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Thursday 9 September 2010

Metronymy

   
Metronymy is the system of naming after the mother's or female line in a family.

2 comments:

  1. ...with patronomy, I guess, being the male equivalent?

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  2. Nearly - it's actually patronymy. So a patronym is a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor.

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