Definition | Meaning

1. Any name given to a literary character that is descriptive of a quality or trait of that character.

Example | Illustration

• ‘Long John Silver’ for someone who is tall and has silver hair

Etymology | Origin

Definition | Meaning

1. The cultural tendency of a set of regional dialects to coalesce into a standard language in response to a center of gravity.

Example | Illustration

• the recent standardization of Mandarin Chinese on the model of the Beijing dialect

Etymology | Origin

Compare | See

• centrifugal force

Definition | Meaning

1. The natural tendency of a language to branch into a set of regional dialects.

Example | Illustration

• the distinctive dialects of British English are the result of centrifugal force

Etymology | Origin

Compare | See

• centripetal force

Definition | Meaning

1. The literal translation of a word from one language into the lexicon of another.

Example | Illustration

• the Mandarin Chinese term nan pengyou ‘male friend’ is a direct translation of the English word ‘boyfriend’

Etymology | Origin

Compare | See

• borrowing

Definition | Meaning

1. A bad name.
2. A name ill-suited to its positioning and/or purpose.

Etymology | Origin

• coined by analogy to cacaphonous from Greek kako ‘bad’ < Indo-European *kakka- ‘to defecate’ + Greek onuma ‘name’

Definition | Meaning

1. The particular qualities of one culture’s language ascribed to it by the speakers of another.

Example | Illustration

• A French name in English often conveys a sense of sensuality and/or sophistication. Would the Clinique cosmetic line be so popular if it were called ‘Clinic’ instead?

Etymology | Origin

• French ‘a mark of distinction, individuality, or authenticity’ < Old French cacher ‘to press, as with a signet ring’