Meaning of name in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /neɪm/

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  1. Verb

    name

    Definitions

    1. assign a specified, proper name to

    Examples

    • « They named their son David »
    • « The new school was named after the famous Civil Rights leader »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. give the name or identifying characteristics of

    Examples

    • « refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property »
    • « Many senators were named in connection with the scandal »
    • « The almanac identifies the auspicious months »

    Derived terms

  3. 3. charge with a function

    Examples

    • « charge to be »
    • « She was named Head of the Committee »
    • « She was made president of the club »

    Derived terms

  4. 4. create and charge with a task or function

    Examples

    • « nominate a committee »

    Derived terms

  5. 5. mention and identify by name

    Examples

    • « name your accomplices! »

    Derived terms

  6. 6. identify as in botany or biology, for example

    Derived terms

  7. 7. make reference to

    Examples

    • « His name was mentioned in connection with the invention »

    Derived terms

  8. 8. give or make a list of

    Examples

    • « name individually »
    • « give the names of »
    • « List the states west of the Mississippi »

    Derived terms

  9. 9. determine or distinguish the nature of a problem or an illness through a diagnostic analysis

    Derived terms

  10. Noun

    name

    Etymology

    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

    Definitions

    1. a language unit by which a person or thing is known

    Examples

    • « his name really is George Washington »
    • « those are two names for the same thing »

    Derived terms

  11. 2. by the sanction or authority of

    Examples

    • « halt in the name of the law »
  12. 3. a person's reputation

    Examples

    • « he wanted to protect his good name »
  13. 4. a well-known or notable person

    Examples

    • « they studied all the great names in the history of France »
    • « she is an important figure in modern music »
  14. 5. family based on male descent

    Examples

    • « he had no sons and there was no one to carry on his name »
  15. 6. a defamatory or abusive word or phrase

    Examples

    • « sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me »

Famous quotes

  • « Nature is a good name for an effect whose cause is God. »
    William Cowper
  • « Religion is a strange, wonderful thing. More crimes have been committed in the name of righteousness than any other notion. »
    Tom T. Hall
  • « Always it gave me a pang that my children had no lawful claim to a name. »
    Harriet Ann Jacobs
  • « Sometimes I have these fantasies of just moving to a foreign country and coming back with a full head of hair. Or not even come back! Make a new life there with hair... Change my name, just see what happens. »
    Larry David
  • « Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? »
    Thomas Jefferson

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