Sunday Word: Denonym

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

I last left you with a vug and a hymen.

Today, I bring you....



dem·o·nym [ˈdeməˌnim]:
origin: [1850] Greek; dēmos= 'the people' + onuma= 'name'.

noun
I am an American because I was born in and live in America. I'm also a Californian. And one can even say San Franciscan, due to my city or residence.

These ways of labeling people by location is referred to as a denonym, it denotes where they are from. There can also be slang (or "calloqual") words of the same relations, like New Zealanders being referred to as "Kiwis" or Canadians being "Canooks". Noteably, these type of words are capitalized.

Some rules for these labels (from Paul Dickson's Labels for Locals):

If the place name ends in -a or -ia, add -n (Californian).
If the name ends in -i or sounded -e, add -an (Hawaiian).
If the name ends in -on, add -ian (Oregonian).
If the name ends in -y, change the -y to an -i and add -an (Albany --> Albanian).
If the name ends in -o, add -an (Chicagoan).
If the name ends in a consonant or a silent -e, add either -ite or -er, depending on euphony (agreeableness of sound) (Mainer, New Hampshireite).
If the name ends in -polis, change that to -politan (Minneapolitan).

Naturally, there are exceptions: Utah, for example, ends in a consonant, but state residents are called "Utahns".

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Comments

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Cool! I always wondered how citizens got their names :-)

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

The third rule doesn't work for Tucson (a city in Arizona): it's Tucsonan, not Tucsonian. I wonder if the length of the -o- has an effect?

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

In English, there are always exceptions. However, there was a High School Newspaper with the name Tusconian (http://edweb.tusd1.org/Roskruge/history.php) and according to this Oxford Dictionary link (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/secondary/garner_modern_american_usage/denizen-labels), multiple denonyms are acceptable for residents of Tucson.

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Huh -- I have never heard nor seen anyone use Tucsonite. True that, about exceptions.

[med_cat]

Very interesting; thanks :)