autonym

[ aw-tuh-nim ]

noun

1. Also called endonym. Anthropology. the name that an ethnic, racial, or social group uses for itself or its language: Compare exonym ( def 2 ), ethnonym ( def ).

   “Inuit” is the autonym for a large subgroup of Indigenous Arctic peoples.

2. a person's real name: Compare pseudonym ( def ).

   To all who replied to my post—if you send me your autonyms by email I'll gladly acknowledge your help in my upcoming article.

3. a book published under the real name of the author.
4. Biology. a trinomial of a subspecies of animal or variety of plant whose final epithet repeats the species name, as in Homo sapiens sapiens (modern human) or Pinus nigra nigra (European black pine): automatically created for the original type the first time another subspecies is named. Compare tautonym ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of autonym¹

First recorded in 1865–70; aut- + -onym

Example Sentences

The volumes of "The Autonym Library" by any other name would be just as handy.

From Project Gutenberg

Autonym, aw′ton-im, n. a writing published under the author's real name.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brand
• flag
• label
• nickname
• sign
• signature
• style
• term