nom de plume

UK/ˌnɒm də ˈpluːm/UK/ˌnɒ̃ -/US/ˌnɑm də ˈplum/

noun

A pen name or pseudonym.

Similar
pen name
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounnom de plume (plural noms de plume)

plural noms de plume · alternative nom-de-plume

  1. A pen name or pseudonym.

    When King's authorship of Thinner was concealed behind the nom de plume Richard Bachman, the novel sold relatively well.

    2018, Robert McParland, Bestseller: A Century of America's Favorite Books, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 154

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan author's pseudonym

Similar
pen name
Broader
pseudonymanonymnom de guerre
Also see
pen name

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Pseudo-Gallicism, derived from nom (“name”) + de (“of”) + plume (“feather”), by analogy with the borrowed nom de guerre.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nom de plume. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nom%20de%20plume

MLA

“nom de plume.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nom%20de%20plume. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nom de plume,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nom%20de%20plume.

Source: nom de plume on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.