Autonym
/ˈɔː.tə.nɪm/noun
A name a person uses for themselves, or a word that refers to itself.
Did you know?Autonym comes from Greek roots meaning “self-name,” and in linguistics it can even describe a word that refers to itself, like a tiny loop of language magic.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
autónymos
“self-named; having one’s own name”
Late Greek
Greek
autōnymía
“the condition of having one's own name; anonymity’s opposite”
19th Century
English
autonym
“a self-designation or a word that refers to itself”
Modern English
English
autonym
“a name a person uses for themselves; in linguistics, a word referring to itself”