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From: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Searching for a word
Message-ID: <340@gargoyle.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Feb-86 21:24:57 EST
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.340
Posted: Fri Feb 14 21:24:57 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Feb-86 05:34:16 EST
References: <361@uw-june> <1668@wanginst.UUCP> <1647@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Reply-To: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Organization: U. of Chicago, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 30
Keywords: acronym
Summary: 

In article <1647@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> mmar@sphinx.UUCP (Mitchell Marks) writes:
>
>Yes, protonym is a very nice term.
>There's still a gap in the terminology, though, for what the original
>poster called 'expansion' but wanted something nicer.  It would apply
>equally to acronyms, abbreviations, and hybrids (like CINCPAC etc) --
>so that with equal appropriateness you could ask for the ____ of IBM
>and also the ____ of 'laser'.

I agree that "protonym" is a good word.  It should properly mean
"original or first name".  For the more general meaning, how about
"macronym", "holonym", "pleonym", or "pleistonym".  Here are some
more words that should be words but aren't:

 podonym	word formed from last letters of words in full name
 megalonym	big name
 teratonym	monster name
 brontonym	thunderous name
 idionym	name known only to oneself
 calonym	beautiful name
 caconym	ugly name
 deinonym	weird name
 sophonym	wise name
 moronym	dumb name
 tautonym	same name
 metonym	changed name
 mesonym	middle name
 eschatonym	last name
-- 
Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes