anonymous

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈnɒn.ɪ.məs/ (UK); /əˈnɑ.nə.məs/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin anonymus,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ἀνώνυμος (anṓnumos, “without a name”), from ἀν- (an-, “without”) and onuma, the Aeolic form of ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”) (see name),^[3][2][5] with -ous.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nameless, of unknown name: 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny;^[2][6] about 1600 in Etymonline.^[3] MWU dates a sense to 1563.^[7]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, a person whose name is not given, it is from 1603.^[6] Of writings, published without an author's name or of unknown authorship, it is from the 1670s (1676 in the OED).^[3][6] Lacking individuality or distinctive features is a modern sense.^[8][9] Anonymity is a 19th-century formation.^[4]

Timeline

• 1563 – first use (MWU).^[7]
• 1601 – nameless.^[2][6]
• 1603 – an unnamed person (noun).^[6]
• 1676 – of unknown authorship.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of unknown or unnamed origin or authorship: an anonymous letter.
2. Not identified by name: an anonymous donor.
3. Lacking individual or distinctive features; impersonal.

Word family

• anonymously
• anonymousness
• anonym
• anon

Related words

• anomia
• anonymity
• pseudonymous
• name
• synonym
• pseudonym
• acronym

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins