name
/neɪm
/noun
1A word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed, or referred to: my name is John Parsons Köln is the German name for Cologne...
- My maiden name has been my name for my whole life and I saw no reason to change it.
- Before he could escort Hazel to the hospital ball, she had to submit his name for Matron's approval.
- Every family had their own name for the plastic wedges you get as rewards.
Synonyms
title, denomination, designation, honorific, tag, epithet, label;
Indian naam
informal moniker, handle
formal appellation, cognomen
rare allonym, anonym, appellative
2A famous person: the big race will lure the top names...
- I went wherever the food sounded good and then whacked three famous names at the top of the copy, willy-nilly, to keep the editor happy.
- The other stories in the collection are jointly authored with other famous sci-fi names and are quite different from the others.
- The show will also feature a very special celebrity Sports Day with some very famous names.
Synonyms
celebrity, star, superstar, VIP, famous person, important person, leading light, celebutante, big name, luminary, mogul, person of note, dignitary, personage, worthy;
expert, authority, lion
informal celeb, somebody, megastar, big noise, big shot, bigwig, big cheese, big gun, big wheel, big fish
2.1 [in singular] A reputation, especially a good one: the school has gained a name for excellence...
- Different salons have acquired a name for a particular service, says a beautician.
- She's got a family and she works and she's made a good name for herself.
- Hitherto hopeless footballing nations suddenly emerged from obscurity and started to make a bit of a name for themselves.
Synonyms
reputation, character, repute, standing, stature, honour, esteem, prestige, cachet, kudos;
fame, celebrity, renown, popularity, notability, note, distinction, eminence, prominence;
Indian izzat
vilify, disparage, denigrate, defame, cast aspersions on, run down, impugn, revile, belittle, abuse, insult, slight, attack, speak badly of, speak ill of, speak evil of, pour scorn on, criticize, censure, condemn, decry, denounce, pillory;
malign, slander, libel, conduct a smear campaign against, spread lies about, blacken the name/reputation of, sully the reputation of, bring into disrepute, discredit, stigmatize, traduce, calumniate, slur
informal bad-mouth, do a hatchet job on, take to pieces, pull apart, throw mud at, drag through the mud, slate, knock, slam, pan, roast, bad-mouth, throw brickbats at
British informal rubbish, slag off, monster
North American informal pummel, dump on
Australian/New Zealand informal bag
rare derogate, vituperate, asperse, vilipend
3(In the UK) an insurance underwriter belonging to a Lloyd’s syndicate.
verb [with object]
1Give a name to: hundreds of diseases had not yet been isolated or named [with object and complement]: she decided to name the child Edward...
- That posed a challenge in naming the institution.
- The puppy was named after the post, so Das refused to tell me its name.
- This is because a strangely named religious institution was at the heart of the scandal.
Synonyms
call, give a name to, dub;
label, style, term, title, entitle;
baptize, christen
archaic clepe
rare denominate
called, by the name of, baptized, christened, known as, under the name of;
dubbed, entitled, styled, termed, described as, labelled
1.1Identify correctly by name: the dead man has been named as John Mackintosh...
- The single mum, who cannot be named as an order was made preventing the identification of her son, admitted one charge of failing to make sure her child went to school.
- The victim has been identified by Gardaí, but has not been named as all relatives have yet to be informed.
- The couple, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the boys, had pleaded guilty in January to the three charges.
Synonyms
identify, specify, cite, give, mention
specified, designated, identified, cited, given, mentioned, selected, nominated, chosen, singled out
rare individuated
1.2Give a particular title or epithet to: she was named as Student of the Year...
- During the 1994-95 Ashes, he picked up 32 wickets and was named man of the series.
- An awards ceremony will be held in January, when one individual will be named Employee of the Year and receive the Achiever of the Year Award.
- The college is named Institute of Technology of the Year.
1.3Mention by name: the sea is as crystal clear as any spot in the Caribbean you might care to name...
- Leicestershire have named an unchanged 12-man squad for the Championship match against Somerset.
- Sussex have named an unchanged 12-man squad from the side that defeated Warwickshire to face Middlesex at Hove.
- The extra additions means Crooks, who names an unchanged starting line-up, will not be forced to continue his playing comeback.
1.4Appoint (someone) to a particular position or task: he was named to head a joint UN-OAS diplomatic effort...
- He was just named to the position, returning to the race school where he began his career in 1993.
- The group named him president of the new organization, a position he held for five years.
- He was named interim dean of the college in September 1994 and appointed dean in May 1995.
1.5British (Of the Speaker) mention (a Member of Parliament) by name as disobedient to the chair and thereby subject to a ban from the House.More exactly relevant here is the fact that Parliament has always been jealous of its privileges, to the point that even naming a member of Parliament in print was a breach of privilege....
- The MP said: ‘I had a political point to make by naming him in parliament.’
2Specify (a sum, time, or place) as something desired, suggested, or decided on: the club have asked United to name their price for the striker...
- Householders can, in effect, name their own sum assured, and hence dictate the level of premium they are asked to pay.
- I think I should take further advice before naming a sum.
- Isaac names a sum, and all deem it fair but the Prior, who must now name the price of Isaac's freedom.
adjective [attributive]
(Of a person or product) having a well-known name: specialized name brands geared to niche markets...
- He had two fights against name opponents where a win would have propelled him into the limelight.
- His big decision is whether to go for the kind of player he has brought in so far or chase some bigger name players.
Phrases
by name
by (or of) the name of
call someone names
give someone/thing a bad name
give one's name to
have someone's name on it
have to one's name
in all but name
in someone's name
in the name of
in name only
make a name for oneself
name the day
one's name is mud
name names
the name of the game
no names, no pack drill
put down (or enter) one's (or someone's) name
put a name to
take someone's name in vain
to name (but) a few
under the name (of)
what's in a name?
you name it
Phrasal verbs
name someone/thing after (or for)
Derivatives
nameable
/ adjective ...- So is the pervasive autumnal, slightly melancholy mood of his pictures, like nostalgia for something not quite nameable.
- Reality may be socially constructed, but, taken in its totality, it is not the work of any nameable individual and it certainly has little or nothing to do with any one of us.
- Another very similar semantical paradox with this same aspect is Berry's Paradox, about ‘the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables’.
Origin
Old English nama, noma (noun), (ge)namian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch naam and German Name, from a root shared by Latin nomen and Greek onoma.
The Latin word nomen is the source of name and of related words in English, such as denominate (mid 16th century), misnomer (Late Middle English), nominate (Late Middle English), and noun (Late Middle English). What's in a name? alludes to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is saying the fact that Romeo belongs to the rival Montague family is irrelevant: ‘What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.’ No names, no pack drill means that punishment for a misdeed cannot be meted out if everyone involved keeps silent about what has happened. Pack drill is a form of military punishment in which an offender has to perform parade-ground exercises carrying a heavy pack. It dates back to the First World War and soon spread from army circles, especially as a joking aside advising someone to be careful how much they say about a particular person or matter.