Meanings
notname1
Notname2
plural Notnames · alternative notname
- A standard name invented for an artist or author whose identity is unknown.
The triptych with The Adoration of the Magi in the Antwerp museum (cat. 68) inspired the Notname of the anonymous master of the works of Group D: Master of the Antwerp Adoration.
2004, Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen2 more examples
The use of the Notname was a frank admission that the lot in question was less prestigious than originally suggested, and the final price paid was lower than what would be expected for a Castagno painting.
1974, Burton B. Fredericksen, Giovanni di Francesco and the Master of Pratovecchio, →ISBN, page 6On the basis of this statement scholars have looked for the whereabouts of the producer of this text – who is called by the Notname 'Printer of the Kerstenspiegel' – in Louvain.
2016, Koen Goudriaan, Anna Dlabačová, Ad Tervoort, Piety in Practice and Print, →ISBN
Origin
- GermanNotname
- EnglishNotname
Borrowed from German Notname, literally "necessity name" or "contingency name".
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
notname. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notname
“notname.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notname. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “notname,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notname.
Source: notname on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.