Etymograph

English

onomasticon

Onomasticon comes from Ancient Greek ὀνομαστικός ‘belonging to names’, from ὀνομάζω ‘I 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 BCEὀνομάζω3onomázō‘I name’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομαστικός3onomastikós‘belonging to names’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομαστικόν3onomastikónuncertainneuter form of ὀνομαστικός
  8. Englishtodayonomasticon3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄνομα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English onomasticon

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, English onomasticonónoma‘name’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομάζωWiktionary, English onomasticononomázō‘I name’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομαστικόςWiktionary, English onomasticononomastikós‘belonging to names’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀνομαστικόνWiktionary, English onomasticononomastikónuncertainneuter form of ὀνομαστικός
  8. EnglishtodayonomasticonWiktionary, English onomasticon

The story

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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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

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

Sources

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

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