idionym

I1D2I1O1N1Y4M3

noun

A word that refers to one specific anatomical part.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nounidionym (plural idionyms)

plural idionyms

  1. anatomyA word that refers to one specific anatomical part.

    In fact, this term, as coined and defined by me, is now an idionym, applicable to but a single part of the brain.

    1896, The journal of comparative neurology, page 221
  2. A mononym.

    Before 1066, each individual was identified by a single, distinctive name (an idionym). This contrasts very strongly with the present-day system of naming, which consists of at least two components, a ‘first-name’ plus a surname ‘denoting a patrilinear family group’.

    1995, Ann Williams, The English and the Norman conquest, page 207
  3. datedbiologyA specific epithet; the name of a species.

    Haworth's idionym “v-flava” has been changed to “v-flavum,” despite its acceptance, with explanation of derivation, by the Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge […]

    1907, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, page 1014

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

idionym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idionym

MLA

“idionym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idionym. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “idionym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idionym.

Source: idionym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.