Etymograph

English

selfname

Selfname comes from English autonym.

  1. English1500–presentautonym
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1986selfname

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentautonym
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1986selfname

Earliest quotation: 1986, Nikukua Sai Nagkiariien Nininife: - Issu: “Surnames are, with a few exceptions, monosyllabic. Selfnames can…”

A compound of self ‘own, proper’ + name

Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- ‘one's own’

Proto-Germanic *selbaz

Old English self ‘self’

Middle English salve

English self

Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’

Proto-Germanic *namô ‘name’

Proto-West Germanic *namō ‘name’

Old English nama ‘name’

Middle English name

English name

The story

The autonym sense is possibly a calque of Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”) + ὄνομᾰ (ónomă, “name”), which are the ultimate roots of English autonym itself.

Every English word from English autonym

Today it means

noun A proper name; a name for one's own self, as opposed to one's family; one's real name.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / English autonym / selfname

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