# name

Pronunciation: say "NAYM" /neɪm/

## Noun

1. A word, phrase, or string of characters by which a particular person, place, thing, class, or other entity is known or identified.
   - Simple: The word or words that a person, place, thing, or group is known by.
   - _I've met her twice, but I can never remember her name._
   - _The committee debated for weeks before choosing a name for the new bridge._
4. The reputation or public standing of a person, family, or organization.
   - Simple: The opinion that people have about a person, group, or company.
   - _Years of reliable service earned the firm a solid name in the industry._
   - _One scandal can ruin a name that took decades to build._
6. A well-known person, company, or organization.
   - Simple: A person or company that is famous or important.
   - _Within ten years, the small bakery had become a trusted name across the region._
   - _The festival lineup mixes a few household names with dozens of promising newcomers._
9. An insulting or abusive word or epithet applied to a person.
   - Simple: An unkind or rude word that someone calls another person.
   - _The crowd shouted names at the players as they left the field._
   - _Calling your opponent a vile name does nothing to strengthen your argument._
8. The authority of a person or institution, invoked when one acts or speaks on their behalf.
   - Simple: The power of a person or group, used when you act or speak for them.
   - _The ambassador spoke in the name of her government._
   - _Property seized in the king's name was rarely returned._
10. The people bearing a particular family name, considered collectively as a family, clan, or line.
   - Simple: A family or group of people who share the same last name.
   - _She was the last of her name, and the estate passed to distant cousins._
   - _Every soldier of the name of Campbell answered the chieftain's call._

## Verb

2. To give a person, place, or thing a name by which it will be known.
   - Simple: To choose what a person, animal, or place will be called.
   - _The astronomers who discovered the comet were given the honor of naming it._
   - _City officials voted to name the park after a local civil rights leader._
3. To designate or appoint someone or something to a role, position, or status.
   - Simple: To choose someone for a job or position.
   - _The board named a longtime employee as the company's next CEO._
   - _The committee plans to name a successor before the end of the year._
5. To mention, specify, or identify something explicitly, such as one choice, a cause, or a factor.
   - Simple: To say exactly which thing or person you mean, as in name three countries.
   - _When asked about her influences, the author named three obscure poets._
   - _Name your price, and we can begin negotiating._
7. To make public the name of a person or thing, especially someone involved in an event or accused of wrongdoing.
   - Simple: To tell people who someone is, for example in the news or in a court case.
   - _Authorities have not yet named the victims of the fire._
   - _The article declined to name its sources._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To formally cite a member of parliament for breaking the rules of conduct, initiating a process that can lead to temporary suspension.
- (noun) An individual investor in the Lloyd's of London insurance market who underwrites policies with unlimited personal liability.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4, 6, 8–10** — "Name" comes from Middle English "name," from Old English "nama," from Proto-Germanic *namô, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European noun *h₁nómn̥. It is related to Dutch "naam," German "Name," Latin "nōmen," and Sanskrit "nā́man," and is a doublet of "nomen" and "noun."
**Meanings 2–3, 5, 7** — The verb goes back to Proto-West Germanic *namōn, which gave the Old English verbs "namian", meaning "to name, mention", and "ġenamian", meaning "to name, call, appoint". These became Middle English "namen". West Frisian "neame" is a relative.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/name (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).