English
onomasiology
Onomasiology comes from Ancient Greek ὀνομάζω ‘I name’, and goes back to 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 BCEὄνομᾰ2ónomă‘name’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομάζω2onomázō‘I name’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954onomasiology2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
- 2 Wiktionary, English onomasiology
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Yakov Malkiel, Etymology and the Structure of Word Families: “Onomasiology, whether or not one inclines to grant it…”.
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 onomasiology‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ónoməWiktionary, English onomasiology‘name’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄνομᾰWiktionary, English onomasiologyónomă‘name’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομάζωWiktionary, English onomasiologyonomázō‘I name’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954onomasiologyWiktionary, English onomasiology. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Yakov Malkiel, Etymology and the Structure of Word Families: “Onomasiology, whether or not one inclines to grant it…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
name, nomination, noun, nominal, nominate, allocate, renown, misnomer, nominative, ignominy, ignominious, 30 more
through Proto-Hellenic *ónomə ‘name’
Today it means
noun A branch of lexicology concerned with the names of concepts.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “onomasiology”; 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- / onomasiology