onomastics
Definition: The study of proper names and their origins.
Etymology: The word derives from the Greek onomastikos, of or belonging to naming (from onoma, name).
Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for onomastics in the sense "the scientific study of names and naming" is from 1930: "The man learned in sciences, in onomastic." [sic]
(T. S. Eliot tr. St.-J. Perse's Anabasis x. 67)
Quotation: "An onomastician studies the origin and form of proper names of every kind and the field of study is called onomastics. … We must also distinguish between an onomastician and an onomasiologist — the latter studies the principles of naming, such as the way it varies between places and groups of people and how new names are formed."
(Source: World Wide Words — http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ono2.htm )



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