selfname
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From self (“own, proper”) + name. The autonym sense is a calque of Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-, “self-”) + ὄνομᾰ (ónomă, “name”), which are the ultimate roots of English autonym itself.
Noun
selfname (plural selfnames)
- A proper name; a name for one's own self, as opposed to one's family; one's real name.
- 2000, Diane Duane, My Enemy, My Ally:
- "Oh, Elements," she finally managed to say, sitting back against the seat cushion of the pilot's chair, "is that truly your selfname?" "James, actually."
- 2000, Joan Slonczewski, A Door Into Ocean:
- But first of all came Lystra with her selfname.
- (linguistics, anthropology) A name given to oneself; a self-denomination or -appellation.
- 2005, Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Eric Johnston, A Grammar of Mina:
- Mina is the selfname of the language referred to in the literature as Hina or Besleri.
- (puristic) An autonym.
- 2009, Nicolas Tranter, The Languages of Japan and Korea:
- In the past, the Ainu (their selfname meaning 'person'), traditionally huntergatherers, occupied not only Hokkaido but also a considerable part of the island of Honshu until the middle the eighteenth century, [...]