patronymic

[pa-truh-nim-ik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR patronymic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

(of family names) derived from the name of a father or ancestor, especially by the addition of a suffix or prefix indicating descent.

(of a suffix or prefix) indicating descent.

noun

a patronymic name, as Williamson (son of William) or Macdonald (son of Donald).

a family name; surname.

Origin of patronymic

1605–15; < Late Latin patrōnymicus < Greek patrōnymikós equivalent to patrṓnym(os) patronymic (see patri-, -onym) + -ikos -ic

Related formspat·ro·nym·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for patronymic

term, brand, style, label, flag, signature, sign, nickname, surname, head, tag, rubric, moniker, cognomen, agnomen, pseudonym, appellation, handle, epithet, denomination

Examples from the Web for patronymic

Historical Examples of patronymic

We have the diminutive in Mappin and the patronymic in Mapleson.
The Romance of Names
Ernest Weekley
Or were these separate creations of the patronymic, some English, some Gaelic?
Records of a Family of Engineers
Robert Louis Stevenson
Nevil, you are a preux of the times of my brother's patronymic.
Beauchamp's Career, Complete
George Meredith
Serfs were not addressed with their patronymic by their superiors.
A Nobleman's Nest
Ivan Turgenieff
The women do get so savage when you leave a fellow's patronymic vague.
Miss Hildreth, Volume 1 of 3
Augusta de Grasse Stevens

British Dictionary definitions for patronymic

patronymic

adjective

(of a name) derived from the name of its bearer's father or ancestor. In Western cultures, many surnames are patronymic in origin, as for example Irish names beginning with O' and English names ending with -son; in other cultures, such as Russian, a special patronymic name is used in addition to the surname

noun

a patronymic name

Word Origin for patronymic

C17: via Late Latin from Greek patronumikos, from patēr father + onoma name

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for patronymic

1610s, from Late Latin patronymicum, from neuter of patronymicus "derived from a father's name," from patronymos "named from the father," from pater (genitive patros) "father" (see father (n.)) + onyma "name," Aeolic dialectal variant of onoma "name" (see name (n.)). As an adjective from 1660s.