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Ademonym(/ˈdɛmənɪm/;fromAncient Greekδῆμος(dêmos)'people, tribe' andὄνυμα(ónuma)'name') orgentilic(fromLatingentilis'of a clan, orgens')[1]is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place.[2]Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, state, country, and continent).[3]Demonyms are used to designate all people (the general population) of a particular place, regardless of ethnic, linguistic, religious or other cultural differences that may exist within the population of that place. Examples of demonyms includeCochabambino,for someone from the city ofCochabamba;Tunisianfor a person from Tunisia; andSwahili,for a person of theSwahili coast.

As a sub-field ofanthroponymy,the study of demonyms is calleddemonymyordemonymics.

Since they are referring to territorially defined groups of people, demonyms aresemanticallydifferent fromethnonyms(names ofethnic groups). In theEnglish language,there are manypolysemicwords that have several meanings (including demonymic and ethnonymic uses), and therefore a particular use of any such word depends on the context. For example, the wordThaimay be used as a demonym, designating any inhabitant ofThailand,while the same word may also be used as an ethnonym, designating members of theThai people.Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms. For example, a native of theUnited Kingdommay be called aBritish person,aBritonor, informally, aBrit.

Some demonyms may have several meanings. For example, the demonymMacedoniansmay refer to the population ofNorth Macedonia,or more generally to the entire population of theregion of Macedonia,a portion of which is inGreece.In some languages, a demonym may be borrowed from another language as a nickname or descriptive adjective for a group of people: for example,Québécois,Québécoise (female)is commonly used in English for a native of the province or city ofQuebec(thoughQuebecer,Quebeckerare also available).

In English, demonyms are alwayscapitalized.[4]

Often, demonyms are the same as the adjectival form of the place, e.g.Egyptian,Japanese,orGreek.However, they are not necessarily the same, as exemplified by Spanish instead of Spaniard or British instead of Briton.[5]

English commonly uses national demonyms such asBrazilianorAlgerian,while the usage of local demonyms such asChicagoan,OkieorParisianis less common. Many local demonyms are rarely used and many places, especially smaller towns and cities, lack a commonly used and accepted demonym altogether.[6][7][8]

Etymology

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National Geographicattributes the termdemonymtoMerriam-WebstereditorPaul Dicksonin a work from 1990.[9]The word did not appear for nouns, adjectives, and verbs derived from geographical names in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary nor in prominent style manuals such as theChicago Manual of Style.It was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his bookLabels for Locals.[10]However, inWhat Do You Call a Person From...? A Dictionary of Resident Names(the first edition ofLabels for Locals)[11]Dickson attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in hisNames' Names: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon(1988),[3]which is apparently where the term first appears. The term may have been fashioned afterdemonymic,which theOxford English Dictionarydefines as the name of anAtheniancitizenaccording to thedemeto which the citizen belongs, with its first use traced to 1893.[12][13]

Suffixation

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Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in theEnglish language.The most common is to add asuffixto the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. These may resembleLate Latin,Semitic,Celtic,orGermanicsuffixes, such as-(a)n,-ian,-anian,-nian,-in(e),-a(ñ/n)o/a,-e(ñ/n)o/a,-i(ñ/n)o/a,-ite,-(e)r,-(i)sh,-ene,-ensian,-ard,-ese,-nese,-lese,-i(e),-i(ya),-iot,-iote,-k,-asque,-(we)gian,-onian,-vian,-ois(e),or-ais(e).

Examples of various suffixes

-(a)n

Continents and regions

Countries

Constituent states, provinces and regions

Cities

-ian

Countries

Constituent states, provinces, regions and cities

-anian

-nian

-in(e)

-(h)in

TheTayabas Tagalogsuffix-(h)in,which is mostly used by the natives in the province ofQuezon,is also used for their local or native demonyms inEnglish.

-a(ñ/n)o/a, -e(ñ/n)o/a, or -i(ñ/n)o/a

Adaptations from the standardSpanishsuffix-e(ñ/n)o(sometimes using a final-ainstead of-ofor a female, following the standard Spanish suffix-e(ñ/n)a)

Countries and regions

Cities

-ite

-(e)r

Often used forEuropeanlocations andCanadianlocations

-(i)sh

(Usually suffixed to a truncated form of thetoponym,or place-name.)

"-ish" is usually proper only as an adjective. See note below list.

  • Åland→ Ålandish people (demonym "Ålandic")
  • Bangka Island→ Bangkish
  • Britain,Great BritainandUnited Kingdom→ British people (demonym "Britons")
  • Cornwall→ Cornish people (demonym "Cornishmen","Cornishwomen")
  • Denmark→ Danish people (demonym "Danes")
  • England→ English people (demonym "Englishmen","Englishwomen")
  • Finland→ Finnish people (demonym "Finns","Finnic")
  • Flanders→ Flemish people (demonym "Flemings")
  • Ireland→ Irish people (demonym "Irishmen","Irishwomen")
  • Kent→ Kentish people
  • Kurdistan→ Kurdish people (demonym "Kurds")
  • Lombok→ Lombokish people
  • Luxembourg→ Luxembourgish people (demonym "Luxembourgers")
  • New South Wales→ New South Welshmen
  • Niger→ Nigerish (also "Nigerien")
  • Northern Ireland→ Northern Irish people
  • Poland→ Polish people (demonym "Poles")
  • Scotland→ Scottish people (demonym "Scots","Scotsmen","Scotswomen")
  • Spain→ Spanish people (demonym "Spaniards")
  • Sweden→ Swedish people (demonym "Swedes")
  • Turkey→ Turkish people (demonym "Turks")
  • Wales→ Welsh people (demonym "Welshmen","Welshwomen","Walian")

-ene

Often used forMiddle Easternlocations andEuropeanlocations.

-ensian

  • Kingston-upon-Hull (UK) → Hullensians
  • Leeds (UK) → Leodensians
  • Reading (UK) → Readingensians

-ard

-ese, -nese or -lese

"-ese" is usually considered proper only as an adjective, or to refer to the entirety.[citation needed]Thus, "a Chinese person" is used rather than "a Chinese".[citation needed]Often used for Italian and East Asian, from the Italian suffix-ese,which is originally from the Latin adjectival ending-ensis,designating origin from a place: thus Hispaniensis (Spanish), Danensis (Danish), etc. The use in demonyms forFrancophonelocations is motivated by the similar-sounding French suffix-ais(e),which is at least in part a relative (< lat.-ensisor-iscus,or rather both).

-i(e) or -i(ya)

Countries

States, provinces, counties, and cities

Mostly forMiddle EasternandSouth Asianlocales.-iis encountered also in Latinate names for the various people that ancient Romans encountered (e.g.Allemanni,Helvetii).-i.e.is rather used for English places.

-iotor-iote

  • Chios→ Chiots
  • Corfu→ Corfiots
  • Cyprus→ Cypriots ( "Cyprian"before 1960 independence of Cyprus)
  • Phanar→ Phanariotes

Used especially forGreeklocations. Backformation fromCypriot,itself based in Greek-ώτης.

-k

-asque

Often used forItalianandFrenchlocations.

-(we)gian

-onian

Often used forBritishandIrishlocations.

-vian

-ois(e), -ais(e)

  • Benin→ Beninois(e) (also "Beninese")
  • Gabon→ Gabonais(e) (also "Gabonese")
  • Niger→ Nigerois(e) (also "Nigerien")
  • Seychelles→ Seychellois(e)
  • Quebec→ Quebecois(e) (also "Quebecker";most common withinCanada)

While derived from French, these are also official demonyms in English.

From Latin or Latinization

Other

  • Botswana→ Motswana (singular) Batswana (plural)

Prefixation

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It is much rarer to find demonyms created with a prefix. Mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of a particular ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of theLuba peoplewould be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, and the language,KilubaorTshiluba.Similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti (Viti being the Fijian name forFiji). On a country level:

  • Botswana→ Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
  • Burundi→ Umurundi (singular), Abarundi (plural)
  • Eswatini→ Liswati (singular), Emaswati (plural)
  • Lesotho→ Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

Non-standard examples

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Demonyms may also not conform to the underlying naming of a particular place, but instead arise out of historical or cultural particularities that become associated with its denizens. In the United States such demonyms frequently become associated with regional pride such as "Burqueño"and the feminine"Burqueña"ofAlbuquerque,[23]or with the mascots of intercollegiate sports teams of thestate university system,take for example thesoonerofOklahomaand theOklahoma Sooners.[24]

Examples

Formal

Informal

Ethnonyms

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Main article:Ethnonyms

Since names of places, regions and countries (toponyms) aremorphologicallyoften related to names of ethnic groups (ethnonyms), various ethnonyms may have similar, but not always identical, forms as terms for general population of those places, regions or countries (demonyms).

Examples

Fiction

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Literature and science fiction have created a wealth of gentilics that are not directly associated with a cultural group. These will typically be formed using the standard models above. Examples includeMartianfor hypothetical people ofMars(credited to scientistPercival Lowell),Gondorianfor the people ofTolkien's fictional land ofGondor,andAtlanteanforPlato's islandAtlantis.

Other science fiction examples includeJovianfor those ofJupiteror its moons andVenusianfor those ofVenus.Fictional aliens refer to the inhabitants of Earth asEarthling(from thediminutive-ling,ultimately fromOld English-ingmeaning "descendant" ), as well asTerran,Terrene,Tellurian,Earther,Earthican,Terrestrial,andSolarian(fromSol,the sun).

Fantasy literature which involves other worlds or other lands also has a rich supply of gentilics. Examples includeLilliputiansandBrobdingnagians,from the islands ofLilliputandBrobdingnagin the satireGulliver's Travels.

In a few cases, where a linguistic background has beenconstructed,non-standard gentilics are formed (or the eponyms back-formed). Examples include Tolkien'sRohirrim(fromRohan), theStar Trekfranchise'sKlingons(with various names for their homeworld), and theSangheilifrom theHalofranchise, (also known as Elites in the game by humans, as well as players) named after their homeworld of Sanghelios.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Local usage generally reservesHawaiianas anethnonymreferring toNative Hawaiians.Hawaii residentis the preferred local form to refer to state residents in general regardless of ethnicity.[14]

References

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  1. ^"gentilic".Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved25 July2015."Definition of GENTILIC".Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2015.Retrieved25 July2015..
  2. ^Roberts 2017,p. 205.
  3. ^abScheetz, George H. (1988).Names' Names: A Descriptive and Pervasive Onymicon.Schütz Verlag.
  4. ^"Gramática Inglesa. Adjetivos Gentilicios".mansioningles.com.Archivedfrom the original on 30 March 2015.Retrieved28 March2015.
  5. ^Costa, Daniel."demonym".Encyclopedia Britannica.
  6. ^"Google Ngram Viewer".google.com.Archivedfrom the original on 7 September 2015.Retrieved28 March2015.
  7. ^"Google Ngram Viewer".google.com.Archivedfrom the original on 10 September 2015.Retrieved28 March2015.
  8. ^"Google Ngram Viewer".google.com.Archivedfrom the original on 10 September 2015.Retrieved28 March2015.
  9. ^"Gentilés, Demonyms: What's in a Name?".National Geographic Magazine.177.National Geographic Society (U.S.): 170. February 1990.Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2021.Retrieved18 June2020.
  10. ^William Safire(14 December 1997)."On Language; Gifts of Gab for 1998".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 14 December 2019.Retrieved15 February2017.
  11. ^What Do You Call a Person From...? A Dictionary of Resident Namesby Paul Dickson (Facts on File, February 1990).ISBN978-0-8160-1983-0.
  12. ^"Oxford English Dictionary".Oxford University Press.Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2008.Retrieved16 June2008.
  13. ^"Aristotle'sConstitution of Athens,edited by J.E. Sandy, at the Internet Archive ".1912. p. 116.
  14. ^The Associated Press Stylebook: and Briefing on Media Law(42nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. 2007. p. 112.ISBN978-0-465-00489-8.
  15. ^Gilbert, Simon (18 November 2014)."What makes a Coventrian? New online tool will tell you".Coventry Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 5 July 2019.Retrieved5 July2019.
  16. ^"Savannahian".Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved12 October2017.
  17. ^Finn, Robin (10 October 2014)."Investing in Future Quiet, Quiet Manhattan Apartments Next to Construction Sites".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2017.Retrieved26 August2017.
  18. ^"Copquin explains" Queensites "for New York Times - Yale Press Log".Yale Press Log.24 March 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 1 February 2017.Retrieved5 May2015.
  19. ^Erskine, Rosalind (18 September 2019)."Baffie to Weegie: 18 Scottish words that are now in the dictionary - and their meaning".The Scotsman.
  20. ^"Corkonian".Merriam-Webster.Archivedfrom the original on 17 February 2015.Retrieved17 February2015.
  21. ^"North West Evening Mail".nwemail.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 31 May 2014.
  22. ^Waterloo, City of (30 October 2013)."Waterluvians! Don't forget about our trail renaming contest".Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2016.Retrieved4 August2015.
  23. ^White, Juliet (16 July 2020)."18 Words You'll Only Understand If You're From New Mexico".OnlyInYourState.Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2021.Retrieved26 April2021.
  24. ^Oklahoma, University of (20 May 2013)."What is a Sooner?".University of Oklahoma.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2013.Retrieved26 April2021.
  25. ^Mettler, Katie (13 January 2017)."'Hoosier' is now the official name for Indiana folk. But what does it even mean? ".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on 7 March 2021.Retrieved31 July2020.
  26. ^"Angeleno".Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved10 August2017.
  27. ^"Massachusetts: General Laws, Section 35".malegislature.gov.Archivedfrom the original on 26 December 2018.Retrieved14 November2016.
  28. ^Prior to the Massachusetts State Legislature designating "Bay Stater" as the state's official demonym, other terms used includedMassachusett,borrowed from the nativeMassachusetttribe,Massachusite,championed by the early EnglishBrahmins,Massachusettsian,by analogy with other state demonyms, andMasshole,originally derogatory.
  29. ^"Why are natives of the Isle of Wight known as 'caulkheads'?".The Guardian.Retrieved22 February2022.
  30. ^"Mexicanos sinónimos, mexicanos antónimos"(in Spanish). SinonimosGratis.com.Archivedfrom the original on 4 January 2022.Retrieved22 February2022.
  31. ^"Slang: What Aussies call other Aussies".Australian Geographic.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2018.Retrieved3 July2018.

Sources

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Look updemonymorgentilicin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demonym&oldid=1250260970"