Dictionary

byname en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbaɪˌneɪm/ (General-American)

Etymology

From by- + name. Cognate with Dutch bijnaam (“nickname”), German Beiname (“nickname, epithet”), Swedish binamn, Danish binavn and Norwegian Bokmål binavn.

Meanings

1. Any secondary name, particularly ▸ Synonym of epithet, a descriptive and distinguishing additional name.
   • The term surname originally denoted an additional name—that is, one used in addition to an individual’s given name, with no implication that it was hereditary. Across medieval Europe a surname was at first often no more than a byname, an ad-hoc sobriquet that was descriptively true of the individual to whom it was given. 2016, Patrick Hanks et al., The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, volume I, page xii:
   • Lions-heart, is... the by-name of K. Richard. 1631, John Weever, Ancient Funerall Monuments..., page 644:
2. (Germanic) Any secondary name, particularly ▸ A formal epithet for a god or goddess, used in rituals in Heathenry.
3. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) Any secondary name, particularly ▸ Synonym of pseudonym, a second name used to disguise authorship etc.
4. (archaic) Any secondary name, particularly ▸ Synonym of nickname, an informal personal name.
5. (archaic) Any secondary name, particularly ▸ Synonym of surname, a hereditary distinguishing additional name.
   • Some of these by-names... remained many years after to them, and theirs; amongst which Plantagenist was entailed on the Royal bloud of England. 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-History of Britain..., page 30:
6. (archaic, historical) Any secondary name, particularly ▸ Synonym of cognomen, a personal or hereditary additional name in ancient Roman contexts.
   • Eutropius... gives him the additional name of Crinitus, perhaps a by-name of his family. 1865, Charles Merivale, History of the Romans under the Empire, volume VIII, page 16:

Forms

Hypernyms

name and Thesaurus:surname

Synonyms

surname · nickname · pseudonym · to-name · epithet · to-name · to-name · to-name · cognomen · to-name · to-name

byname en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbaɪˌneɪm/ (General-American)

Etymology

From by- + name. Cognate with Dutch bijnaam (“nickname”), German Beiname (“nickname, epithet”), Swedish binamn, Danish binavn and Norwegian Bokmål binavn.

Meanings

1. (archaic, transitive) To assign a byname to.

Forms

Synonyms

to-name