Meanings
plural hydronymies
- countableuncountableThe naming of bodies of water such as rivers and lakes.
As references to foreign hydronymies have shown, this semantic structure and development is not confined to Scotland or to the British Isles.
1957, Scottish Studies - Volumes 1-2, page 2392 more examples
In hydronymy there are many pairs of river names such as Eau Blanche/Eau Noire in France, Blanc Ruxel/Noir Ruisseau in the Vosges, France, Beli Iskdr/Cerni Iskdr in Bulgaria, Crisul Alb/Crisul Negru in Romania.
1989, Jan Gijsbert Pieter Best, Manny M. W. De Vries, Thracians and Mycenaeans, →ISBNHydronymy marks the most conservative feature of toponomastics. By hydronymy earlier strata of a population might be identified and the movements of prehistoric peoples can be observed assessing the spread of the hydronymy associated with them.
2007, Helmut Birkhan, Hannes Tauber, Kelten-Einfälle an der Donau
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*wed-
- Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
- Proto-Hellenic*údōr
- Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)
- Englishhydro-
- Ancient Greekὄνυμα (ónuma)
- Englishhydronymy
From hydro- (“water”) + -onymy (“naming”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech hydronymika
- hydronymikanaming of water bodies
French hydronymie
- hydronymienaming of water bodies
German Hydronymie
- Hydronymienaming of water bodies
Greek υδρονυμία
- υδρονυμία (ydronymía)naming of water bodies
Polish hydronymia
- hydronymianaming of water bodies
Russian гидронимия
- гидронимия (gidronimija)naming of water bodies
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hydronymy
Cite this entry
hydronymy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydronymy
“hydronymy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydronymy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hydronymy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydronymy.
Source: hydronymy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.