metronymic

Also mat·ro·nym·ic

[mee-truh-nim-ik, me-]

adjective

1. derived from the name of a mother or other female ancestor.

noun

1. a metronymic name.

metronymic

/ ˌmɛtrəˈnɪmɪk /

adjective

1. (of a name) derived from the name of its bearer's mother or another female ancestor

noun

1. a metronymic name

Word History and Origins

Origin of metronymic¹

First recorded in 1865–70, metronymic is from the Greek word mētrōnymikós “named after one's mother”

Word History and Origins

Origin of metronymic¹

C19: from Greek mētronumikos, from mētēr mother + onoma name

Example Sentences

Her forehand was clean and metronymic, her backhand powerful and poised.

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Descent henceforth was reckoned in the paternal line, and society had become patronymic instead of metronymic.

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Strictly speaking, therefore, there has never been a matriarchal stage of social evolution, but rather a maternal or metronymic stage.

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The Iroquois Indians, among whom Morgan lived, were a typical maternal or metronymic people.

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Among many tribes of the North American Indians this metronymic or maternal system was peculiarly well-developed.

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Related Words

• last name