namesake
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namesake
- /ˈneɪmseɪk/
Where it comes from
Mid-17th century. Equivalent to name + sake. From the phrase “for (one's) name's sake”, first found in Bible translations as a rendering of a Calque of Hebrew לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (l'má'an sh'mó) idiom meaning “to protect one's reputation” or possibly “vouched for by one's reputation”. A familiar example is in Psalm 23:3.
noun namesakes
-
An entity that lends its name to another entity.
Similar: eponym
- A person with the same name as another. The statesman Winston Churchill has a namesake, the American novelist Winston Churchill.
- One who is named after another, often a child named after the parent or an ancestor. Bill Sr's namesake, Bill Jr, is 30 years younger.
- One for whom another is named, often the parent or ancestor who gave the name to a child. Bill Jr's namesake, Bill Sr, is 30 years older.
-
Something (especially a ship, a building, or a medical condition, symptom, or sign) that is named after someone or something.
Similar: eponym
verb namesakes · namesaking · namesaked
- To name (somebody) after somebody else.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: name, signature, behalf, eponymist, cognominal, to-name, etymology, aftername, namesmanship, byname, anthroponym, surname, matronymic, toponym, aptronym, anthropotoponym
Translations
Every language
noun person with the same name as another
| Español | tocayo, tocaya, homónimo, homónima, colombroño |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 동명인 dongmyeong'in |
| 日本語 | 同名異人 dōmei ijin, 同姓同名 dōseidōmei |
| 中文 | 同名者 tóngmíngzhě, 同名的人 tóngmíng de rén |
| हिन्दी | हमनाम hamnām |
| Português | tocaio, homónimo, homónima, homônimo, homônima, xará |
| Français | homonyme |
| Deutsch | Namensvetter |
| Italiano | omonimo, omonima |
| Ελληνικά | συνονόματος synonómatos |
| Română | tiz |
| Русский | тёзка tjózka, однофами́лец odnofamílec, однофами́лица odnofamílica |
| Tiếng Việt | người trùng tên |
| العربية | سَمِيّ samiyy, سَمِيَّة samiyya |
noun person, place or thing named after another person, place or thing
| Español | tocayo |
|---|
Talk about this word "namesake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/namesake. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. namesake. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/namesake "namesake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/namesake.Cite this
@misc{namesake_2026,
title = {namesake},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/namesake},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
