Meanings
nounprotonym (plural protonyms)
plural protonyms
- biologyThe first legitimate name of a taxon, on which the currently accepted name is based.
The protonym of Macroscyphus appears to be Nees von Esenbeck's (1817) [genus] Peziza ...
1968, Mien A. Rifai, The Australasian Pezizales in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew1 more example
Protonyms form the name for later revised opinions on a taxon concept as implicitly or explicitly circumscribed in a subsequent publication...
2005, Bertram Ludäscher, Louiqa Raschid, Data integration in the life sciences - uncommonprescriptiveThe first/original entity after which another entity is named without the entities being related. If the entities are related, then the original entity is the eponym of the subsequent entities.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan original scientific name on which the modern name is based
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
protonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protonym
MLA
“protonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protonym. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protonym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protonym.
Source: protonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.