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Re: OT: polyonomy

From:Eugene Oh <un.doing@...>
Date:Saturday, December 9, 2006, 14:42
The Greek word for "name" is actually onoma. And IIRC I've only ever
seen "heteronymy" used, but not "heteronomy" -- are both entries in
AHD? I don't have a copy myself so I can't check, but perhaps they are
variants on the same etymon. Perhaps, also, that "polyonomy" was a
coinage on the author's part.

Eugene

2006/12/9, caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>:
> >>caeruleancentaur wrote: > > >> The featured article today on Wikipedia is about Macedonia. The > >> author uses the word "polyonomy" along > >> with "heteronomy." "Heteronomy" is an entry in the AHD. > >> However, "polyonomy" is not. I know what the author means, but I > >> should think the word would be "polynomy." The word doesn't seem > >> to warrant that extra "o." Neither form is in the AHD. > > >Eric Christopherson <rakko@...> wrote: > > >Anyway, if the etymological meaning is "many names", I think it > >should be <polyonymy>. The "extra" O is part of the Greek word for > >"name", <onymos>. <Polynomy>, AFAICT, would mean "many systems of > >government" or "many bodies of knowledge". <Polyonomy> seems like > >a conflation of the two. (But I am not an expert.) > > I see your point. The prefix can be either "hetero-" or "heter-" > depending on what follows: hetero-sexual, heter-onomy. > > There is only one form for "poly-": poly-gon, poly-onomy. There is > the noun "polynom," so the two different noun stems would have to be > differentiated. "Polyonomy" just looks funny until the etymology is > known. > > Charlie > http://wiki.frath.net/senjecas >

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Eric Christopherson <rakko@...>