name means any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing. It carries an Arena rating of 1500, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, name ranks #7,803 of 17,112 for Most Whimsical Words, #9,921 of 17,099 for Most Ingenious Words, #10,324 of 17,103 for Most Ponderous Words, #10,372 of 17,113 for The Improbable.
name is pronounced /neɪm/.
Why “name” is a great word
The identifier bestowed upon an individual entity, a designation that both anchors and abstracts the thing it signifies; also, to give such an identifier. From Middle English name, nome, from Old English nama, noma, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô ("name"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ("name"). Unlike "designate" (which focuses on official appointment to a role) or "nomenclature" (which describes an entire technical system of terms), "name" is the primal act of linguistic capture. It is the breath forming a child’s first word, the scratch of a pen claiming ownership on a map, and the whispered secret that binds a pact—a fragile tether cast between silence and being.
Etymology
From Middle English name, nome, from Old English nama, noma, from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô (“name”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Cognates Germanic Cognates: Yola naame, name, naume (“name”), North Frisian Naam, neem, noome, nööm (“name”), Saterland Frisian Nome, Noome (“name”), West Frisian namme (“name”), Alemannic German Naame, namä, noame, nomu, nàmund (“name”), Cimbrian naamo, name, nåm (“name”), Dutch naam, name (“name”), German Nahme, Name (“name”), German Low German Naam (“name”), Luxembourgish Numm (“name”), Mòcheno nu'm (“name”), Vilamovian noma (“name”), Yiddish נאָמען (nomen, “n
noun
- Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.e.g.“I've never liked the name my parents gave me so I changed it at the age of twenty.”
- A reputation.e.g.“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.”
- An abusive or insulting epithet.e.g.“Stop calling me names!”
- A person (or legal person).e.g.“They list with women each degenerate name.”
- Those of a certain name; a race; a family.e.g.“The ministers of the republic, mortal enemies of his name, came every day to pay their feigned civilities.”
- An authority; a behalf.e.g.“Halt in the name of the law!”
- An identifier, generally a unique string of characters.
- An investor in Lloyd's of London bearing unlimited liability.
- Any of several types of true yam (Dioscorea) used in Caribbean Spanish cooking.
verb
- To give a name to.e.g.“One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting.”
- To mention, specify.e.g.“He named his demands.”
- To identify as relevant or importante.g.“naming the problem”
- To publicly implicate by name.e.g.“The painter was named as an accomplice.”
- To disclose the name of.e.g.“Police are not naming the suspect as he is a minor.”
- To designate for a role.e.g.“My neighbor was named to the steering committee.”
- To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct.e.g.“I must warn the Right Honourable gentleman, that if he persists in his refusal to comply with my order to withdraw [the words "deliberately deceptive"], I shall be compelled to name him.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.