Meanings
plural nosonyms
- The name of a disease.
A comprehensive is nosonym therefore, required,^([sic – meaning A comprehensive nosonym is, therefore, required]) and I suggested the term "dyslysis" […]
1971, British Medical Journal, page 1712 more examples
From an onomastic point of view, nosonyms pose a set of challenging problems, both with respect to whether they should be seen as common or proper nouns, and with regard for their referential scope.
2021, Elwys De Stefani, “The (im)morality of disease names: COVID-19”, in NoSo, volume 1, number 1, page 66De Stefani shows how traditions of disease naming have changed over time as medical scientists and professionals have sought to standardize the names of diseases, or nosonyms.
2021, Reuben Rose-Redwood, “The social and political life of names and naming”, in NoSo, volume 1, number 1, →DOI, page 194
Origin
- Ancient Greekνόσος (nósos)
- Ancient Greekνοσο- (noso-)
- Englishnoso-
- Ancient Greekὄνυμα (ónuma)
- Englishnosonym
From noso- (“disease”) + -onym (“name”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Brazilian Portuguese nosônimo
- nosônimoname of a disease
Catalan nosònim
- nosònimname of a disease
European Portuguese nosónimo
- nosónimoname of a disease
French nosonyme
- nosonymename of a disease
Italian nosonimo
- nosonimoname of a disease
Spanish nosónimo
- nosónimoname of a disease
Cite this entry
nosonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nosonym
“nosonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nosonym. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nosonym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nosonym.
Source: nosonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.