English
characternym
Characternym comes from Ancient Greek ὄνῠμᾰ ‘Lyric, Aeolic, and Laconian form of ὄνομᾰ…’, from Proto-Hellenic *ónomə ‘name’, and ultimately from Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-1transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥2‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ónomə2‘name’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄνῠμᾰ2ónŭmă‘Lyric, Aeolic, and Laconian form of ὄνομᾰ (ónomă)’
- Englishtodaycharacternym2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
- 2 Wiktionary, English characternym
Lineage
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, English characternym‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ónoməWiktionary, English characternym‘name’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄνῠμᾰWiktionary, English characternymónŭmă‘Lyric, Aeolic, and Laconian form of ὄνομᾰ (ónomă)’
- EnglishtodaycharacternymWiktionary, English characternym
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
name, nomination, noun, nominal, nominate, allocate, renown, misnomer, nominative, ignominious, ignominy, 30 more
through Proto-Hellenic *ónomə ‘name’
through Ancient Greek ὄνῠμᾰ ‘Lyric, Aeolic, and Laconian form of ὄνομᾰ…’
Today it means
noun —
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “characternym”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Hittite ḫannaⁱ- / characternym