patronymic
Americanadjective
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(of family names) derived from the name of a father or ancestor, especially by the addition of a suffix or prefix indicating descent.
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(of a suffix or prefix) indicating descent.
noun
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a patronymic name, as Williamson (son of William) or Macdonald (son of Donald).
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a family name; surname.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- patronymically adverb
Etymology
Origin of patronymic
1605–15; < Late Latin patrōnymicus < Greek patrōnymikós equivalent to patrṓnym(os) patronymic ( patri-, -onym ) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
If something is patronymic, it comes from your father's name, or perhaps the name of one of his ancestors. Last names like "Wilson" and "Johnson" are patronymic. In some countries, patronymic names are extremely common. Take Iceland, for example: instead of having a last name that can be traced back generations through their father's family tree, most Icelanders' last names reflect their father's first name followed by "son" (or occasionally their mother's first name followed by dóttir or "daughter"). If your father's name was Jón Kárason, instead of sharing that last name, your last name would be the patronymic Jónson, or "son of Jón."
Vocabulary lists containing patronymic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Genealogist Calum MacNeil said patronymic names were popular when he was growing up in Nask, a small community in Barra.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2025
Cedillo responded, “I bet it ends in i-a-n,” referring to the traditional patronymic in Armenian surnames.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2022
“With this he changed my life. And also by his attitude toward Raisa Maximovna — a second important lesson,” Khodorkovsky said, using Gorbacheva’s patronymic.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 2, 2022
“For all of our existence dark forces have been trying to divide us,” said Lyudmila Ivanovna, who would only give her name and patronymic.
From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2022
The late owner of the "Hundred" did not even bear the family patronymic, his Hildebrand descent being on the distaff side.
From In Jeopardy by Sutphen, Van Tassel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
