A
demonym, also referred to as a
gentilic, is a
name for a resident of a locality which is derived from the name of the particular locality.
[1] The word
demonym comes from the
Greek word for "populace" (
d?µ?? demos) with the suffix for "name" (
-onym). In
English, the demonym is often the same as the name of the people's native language the people of
Korea are called
Korean, which is also the name of their language.
National Geographic Magazine attributes this term to
Merriam-Webster editor
Paul Dickson.
[2] It was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book
Labels for Locals.
[3]Dickson himself attributed the term to George H. Scheetz in What Do You Call a Person From...? A Dictionary of Resident Names (the first edition of Labels for Locals).[4] The term first appeared in Names' Names A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon by George H. Scheetz.[1]
The term is foreshadowed in demonymic, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as the name of an Athenian citizen according to the deme to which he belonged, with first usage traced to 1893.[5][6]
The term demonym is not widely employed or known outside geographical circles and does not yet appear in mainstream dictionaries. It is used by some geographers, both online and within their studies and teaching.[7]
