Etymograph

English

onomastic

Onomastic may come from Ancient Greek ὀνομᾰστῐκός ‘good at naming’, from ὀνομάζω ‘to name’, and ultimately from Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.

  1. Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-1transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥2‘name’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ónomə2‘name’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄνομα3ónoma‘name’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομάζω3‘to name’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομᾰστῐκός4‘good at naming’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2013onomastic4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄνομα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικός
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English onomastic
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, David Vaculík, Parts of the city of Ostrava – The past and current state of: “The core of the study consists of an onomastic…”.

Lineage

  1. Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄνομα‘name’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ónoməWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄνομα‘name’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄνομαWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικόςónoma‘name’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομάζωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικός‘to name’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομᾰστῐκόςWiktionary, English onomastic‘good at naming’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2013onomasticWiktionary, English onomastic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, David Vaculík, Parts of the city of Ostrava – The past and current state of: “The core of the study consists of an onomastic…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’

name, nomination, noun, allocate, nominal, nominate, renown, misnomer, nominative, ignominious, ignominy, 30 more

through Ancient Greek ὄνομα ‘name’

anonymity, pseudonym, 7 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to a personal or place name.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “onomastic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥, Ancient Greek ὄνομα, Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικός. 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- / onomastic

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