Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica
2026, ol. 94, pp. 1–12
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Recei ed: / Gau a: 2026-04-29. Accep ed: / P iim a: 2026-06-02. 1
ONOMASTIC TERMINOLOGY: BETWEEN SYSTEMIC RIGOUR AND
UNRESTRAINED PROLIFERATION
Onomas inė e minologija: a p sis eminio g iež umo i ne a žomo pli imo
ARTUR GAŁKOWSKI
Ins i u e o Romance S udies, Facul y o Philology, Uni e si y o Lodz
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
ORCID ID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-2471-0886
Fields o esea ch: I alian, F ench and Sla ic linguis ics, onomas ics, ch ema onomas ics, onomas ic
e minology, onomas ic heo y, lexicology, glo odidac ics.
h ps://doi.o g/10.35321/all94-04
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABSTRACT
This a icle examines con empo a y onomas ic e minology, ocusing on he coexis ence o sys ema ic
cohe ence and inc easing e minological p oli e a ion. I analyses he linguis ic s a egies unde lying he
o ma ion o adi ional and eme ging (me a)onomas ic e ms, dis inguishing be ween mono hema ic
neologisms and desc ip i e syn agma ic o ma ions. Pa icula a en ion is paid o he ci cula ion o e ms
ac oss onomas ics, o he linguis ic subdisciplines, and applied domains h ough he mechanism o
in e disciplina y ans e . D awing on selec ed examples om ecen e minological p ac ice, including
p oposals documen ed in con empo a y onomas ic dic iona ies and schola ly publica ions, he s udy c i ically
examines he p oli e a ion o neological e ms, many o which a e cha ac e ised by o mal inconsis ency, weak
p agma ic mo i a ion, and limi ed communica i e anspa ency. I is a gued ha excessi e and insu icien ly
jus i ied neologisa ion, including he agmen a ion o e minology applied o highly indi idualised ca ego ies
o named objec s, may esul in concep ual ambigui y, e minological in la ion, and educed me hodological
eliabili y. By con as , desc ip i e and s uc u ally anspa en e ms a e shown o p o ide g ea e cla i y,
in e p e abili y, and unc ional adequacy. The a icle he e o e seeks o delinea e he bounda ies o
e minological c ea i i y in onomas ics, emphasising he impo ance o concep ual discipline, c oss-linguis ic
consis ency, and alignmen wi h in e na ionally ecognised s anda ds o scien i ic e minology.
KEYWORDS: onomas ic e minology, me aonomas ic e ms, e minological p oli e a ion, in e disciplina y
ans e , neologisa ion, e minological s anda disa ion, linguis ic s a egies.
ANOTACIJA
Šiame s aipsnyje ap a iama daba inė onomas ikos e minologija, daugiausia dėmesio ski ian
sis eminės da nos i is didėjančios e minologinės gausos koegzis a imui. Jame analizuojamos ling is inės
s a egijos, lemiančios adicinių i naujų (me a)onomas ikos e minų o ma imąsi, a ski ian mono eminius
neologizmus nuo ap ašomųjų sin agminių s uk ū ų. Ypa ingas dėmesys ski iamas e minų sklaidai
onomas ikoje, ki ose kalbos mokslų i aikomosiose s i yse pasi elkian a ps i inio pe da imo mechanizmą.
Remian is pasi ink ais naujausios e minologinės p ak ikos pa yzdžiais, už iksuo ais daba iniuose onomas ikos
žodynuose i mokslinėse publikacijose, šiame y ime k i iškai ap a iamas neologizmų pli imas, ku ių daugumai
būdingas o malus nenuoseklumas, silpna p agma inė mo y acija i ibo as komunikacinis skaid umas.
Teigiama, kad pe nelyg dažnas i nepakankamai pag įs as naujada ų kū imas, įskai an e minijos, aikomos
ypač indi idualizuo oms į a dy ų objek ų ka ego ijoms, gali sukel i są okų d ip asmiškumą, e minologijos
išplė imą i sumažin i me odologinį pa ikimumą. P iešingai, į ody a, kad ap ašomieji i s uk ū iškai aiškūs
2
e minai už ik ina didesnį aiškumą, sup an amumą i unkcinį inkamumą. Todėl šiame s aipsnyje siekiama
apib ėž i e minologinio kū ybiškumo ibas onomas ikoje, pab ėžian są okų nuoseklumo, a pkalbinio
sude inamumo i a p au iniu mas u p ipažin ų mokslinės e minijos s anda ų a i ik ies s a bą.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: onomas inė e minologija, me aonomas iniai e minai, e minijos p oli e acija,
a ps i inis pe kėlimas, neologiza imas, e minijos s anda iza imas, ling is inės s a egijos.
INTRODUCTION
Onomas ic e minology cu en ly de elops in a s a e o ension be ween he need o
sys emic cohe ence and he inc easing endency owa ds he uncon olled p oli e a ion o
new e ms. Al hough he c ea ion o new e ms e lec s he dynamic g ow h o onomas ic
esea ch and i s in e disciplina y dimension, i also aises essen ial ques ions ega ding
concep ual cla i y, me hodological consis ency, and he communica i e anspa ency o
onomas ic e minology in indi idual, c oss-linguis ic, and mul icul u al con ex s (see Zgus a
1995; Š ámek 2003; Wolnicz-Pawłowska 2016; Odaloš 2018; 2022; Bijak 2019; Gałkowski
2024; 2025).
The main objec i e o his a icle is o examine he mechanisms o e m o ma ion in
con empo a y onomas ics and o assess he unc ional adequacy, a ional mo i a ion, and
scien i ic legi imacy o onomas ic e minology. I is a gued ha , al hough e minological
inno a ion cons i u es an inhe en and necessa y aspec o he de elopmen o onomas ic
s udies, i s excessi e o insu icien ly g ounded p oli e a ion may lead o concep ual
ambigui y, e minological agmen a ion, and a weakening o me hodological igou .
The indings a e based on a co pus o onomas ic e ms ha we e collec ed based on
hei wo d o ma ion pa e ns, he domains in which hey a e used, and he ex en o which
hei in oduc ion add esses an iden i iable scien i ic need
1
. The esea ch app oach combines
lexicological analysis wi h a seman ic and p agma ic pe spec i e ha conside s he in e nal
s uc u e o e ms and hei ole in onomas ic and b oade schola ly communica ion (c .
Ha alík, Valen o á 2018: 55–56). Pa icula a en ion is paid o he dis inc ion be ween
mono hema ic neologisms and desc ip i e syn agma ic o ma ions, as well as he in luence
o classical and non-classical linguis ic esou ces on he c ea ion o e ms.
The s udy con ibu es o de ining he bounda ies o e minological c ea i i y in
onomas ics, pa icula ly when neologisa ion is unnecessa y, poo ly jus i ied o concep ually
uns able. The s udy also add esses he need o es ain he o e ly agmen ed
e minologisa ion o dubious se s o names e e ing o highly speci ic ca ego ies o objec s,
o example di e en ypes o zoonyms assigned o ce ain animal and insec species, o
highly specula i e ideonyms e e ing o a ious a is ic and media p oduc s. By doing so,
he s udy aims o p omo e a mo e balanced, c i ical app oach o he de elopmen and
e alua ion o onomas ic e minology.
1. ONOMASTIC TERMINOLOGY AS PART OF LINGUISTIC AND
COGNTIVE INQUIRY
Once es ablished and adap ed o e ol ing heo ies and me hods in he s udy o
p ope names and naming p ocesses, onomas ic e minology cons i u es a ela i ely
au onomous scien i ic ield, while emaining an in eg al pa o linguis ic e minology in
p inciple (c . Wolnicz-Pawłowska 2016: 38). Consequen ly, i can be examined wi hin he
amewo k o linguis ics and i s p ima y analy ical b anches, as well as, o a ce ain ex en ,
1
The s udy d aws on selec ed onomas ic and quasi-onomas ic glossa ies and dic iona ies, including G undbe-
g i e de Namenkunde (GDN 1964), Lexique des e mes u iles à l’é ude des noms de lieux (LTUENL 1975),
Słownik e minów używanych p zy s anda yzacji nazw geog a icznych (STSNG 2014), Te minologia Onomas ica
(TON 2018), English-Romanian Dic iona y o Name- ela ed Te ms (ERDNRT 2020), An Alphabe ical Guide To
The Language o Names S udies (GLNS 1996), A Dic iona y o Uk ainian Onomas ic Te minology (DUOT 2024),
Slo enská onomas ická e minológia (SOT 2024), Lis o Key Onomas ic Te ms (LKOT), and o he ecen e mi-
nological sou ces.
3
i s heo e ical domains. Like any o he e m, an onomas ic e m is a lexical uni , anging
om a single wo d o a mul iwo d exp ession o syn agma ic s uc u e, ealised in language
use. The e o e, i alls wi hin he scope o linguis ic enqui y and i s subdisciplines,
including lexicology, seman ics, p agma ics, and cogni i e linguis ics. A gi en onomas ic
e m, such as gephy onym (< G . γεφύρα gephý a ‘b idge’), used o deno e he p ope names
o b idges, can encode and con ey knowledge abou he wo ld. I can indica e he exis ence
o a pa icula ype o onymic objec iden i ied by p ope names (Š ámek 2003). F om
onomas ic, linguis ic, and cul u al pe spec i es, such objec s may wa an he in oduc ion
o dis inc (me a)onomas ic e ms (Gałkowski 2021). Howe e , o he pe spec i es exis ,
including he iew ha “ ypes o p ope names should be de ined p ima ily on he basis o
he p ope ies o he names hemsel es, a he han o he objec s hey deno e” (Włoskowicz
2018: 94
2
).
2. INTERDISCIPLINARY TRANSFERS AND THE EXPANSION
OF ONOMASTIC TERMINOLOGY
The app oach adop ed he e es s on he assump ion ha p ope names cons i u e
a ele an objec o inqui y ac oss i ually all adi ional and con empo a y b anches o
linguis ics. This spans co e analy ical domains, ex ending o mo e applied a eas o linguis ic
esea ch, such as sociolinguis ics, psycholinguis ics, glo odidac ics, ansla ion s udies, and
co pus linguis ics. The la e no ably highligh s he b oade scope, po en ial, and esea ch
equi emen s o onomas ics. When examined wi hin speci ic discu si e, ex ual, o cul u al
con ex s, p ope names equi e analy ical amewo ks and me hodological s a egies ha a e
inhe en ly in e disciplina y and co espondingly mo e complex. Thei scope anscends
beyond he humani ies o encompass o he scien i ic disciplines and ields o applica ion.
Onomas ic e minology lends i sel o compa ison wi h he e minology o mo e
objec -o ien ed sciences, such as hose ha desc ibe geog aphical ea u es, which a e
designa ed by gene ic and p ope names. The common noun i e , o example, when
conside ed as a physiog aphic designa ion, can be examined alongside p ope names such as
Ne is o Vilija, which ope a e wi hin he Li huanian hyd onomas icon as po amonyms (< G .
ποταμός po amós ‘ i e ’), speci ically in he ield o hyd onomas ics (c . Hladký 2022: 322–
323). Simila ly, he species e m oak, a es ed ac oss languages and ep esen ed by a ious
o ms in bo anical e minology, inds i s onomas ic coun e pa in he p ope name Ba ek,
which designa es a speci ic oak ee ecognised as a na u al monumen in he Świę ok zyskie
Region o Poland. F om an onomas ic pe spec i e, his name exempli ies dean h oponymic
ansonymisa ion
3
and belongs o he class o dend onyms (< G . δένδρον dénd on ‘ ee’), i.e.
p ope names assigned o indi idual ees in he na u al landscape (c . Bijak 2020: 75).
In e ms o opog aphy and, mo e b oadly, cul u al domains, one migh conside he
nume ous e ms de i ed om he geog aphical and geological app oach de eloped by Hen i
Do ion and Jean Poi ie in hei F ench glossa y o use ul e ms o place names (LTUENL
1975). This wo k can be seen as an ea ly and in luen ial poin o e e ence o new
onomas ic e minology, as e lec ed in subsequen lexicog aphic compendia in Eas and
Sou h Sla ic coun ies (see, e.g., EBO 2010; SUOT 2012; c . STSNG 2014).
An analysis o sou ces, documen s, and hema ic glossa ies sugges s ha
inco po a ing non-onomas ic e ms in o onomas ics in he s ic sense, ollowed by hei
scien i ic alida ion, is no uncommon. Con e sely, nume ous ecognised onomas ic e ms
ha e been, and con inue o be, adop ed by o he disciplines and non-scien i ic domains.
2
T ansla ed om Polish by he au ho .
3
Dean h oponymic ansonymisa ion e e s o he p ocess whe eby a pe sonal name, one o i s a ian s, o one
o i s main componen s is ans e ed o ano he onomas ic ca ego y and subsequen ly designa es a di e en
ype o named objec .
4
These p ocesses a e spon aneous and na u al. In ac , onomas ics does no ha e an exclusi e
manda e o egula e naming issues. In non-scien i ic domains, any such claim would la gely
be incomp ehensible, pa icula ly in con ex s whe e “pa a-onomas ic” e minology
4
is
ou inely used o name o code a ious indus ial p oduc s, o in pseudoscien i ic p ac ices
such as “onomancy”, which a ibu es pu a i e o igins and subjec i e psychological alues o
pe sonal names.
2.1. Comme cial naming and applied onomas ics: a case o ecip ocal
in luence
The in e disciplina y na u e o comme cial names (wo d adema ks) has a ac ed
he a en ion o onomas icians, linguis s and o he specialis s o se e al decades (see
Sjöblom 2014). While his a ea seems somewha dis an om onomas ics in he co e sense,
i emains a subjec o ongoing in e es o onomas ics and, by ex ension, o ma ke ing,
pa icula ly ega ding he adminis a i e egula ion o naming p ocesses.
In onomas ics, o p ecisely, in ch ema onomas ics, comme cial names assigned o
p oduc s, p oduce s o business en i ies a e conside ed ei he p agmonyms o p agma onyms
(< G . πρᾶγμα p agma ‘ hing, objec , ac i i y’) o e gonyms (< G . ἔργον e gon ‘wo k’), and,
a a mo e gene al le el, as ma ke ing ch ema onyms o ma konyms (< Ge m. ma k ‘ma k’),
e e ing o b ands
5
. A b and is unde s ood as a dis inc i e ma k associa ed wi h a pa icula
economic en i y and i s owne . I is he e o e p o ec ed as a subs an ial and in ellec ual asse ,
inco po a ing linguis ic, g aphic and some imes mul isenso y elemen s.
2.2. Dual na u e o onomas ic e minology: s ic and non-s ic domains
The basic classi ica ion o bo h adi ional and eme ging onomas ic e minology is
shaped by he linguis ic s a egies employed in i s o ma ion and is g ounded in i s dual
cha ac e . On he one hand, he e is a s ic e minology speci ic o onomas ic esea ch and
i s objec s o s udy. On he o he hand, non-s ic e minology is in e disciplina y in na u e
and in luenced by o he disciplines, as well as by cul u al and na u al phenomena. I se es
bo h o desc ibe di e se domains o knowledge and o unc ion as a cogni i e ins umen in
he concep ualisa ion and in e p e a ion o na u al and cul u al phenomena.
E en he mos s ic ly de ined onomas ic e m and i s unde lying concep can be
assumed o ha e non-s ic , in e disciplina y applica ions, and ice e sa. Fo ins ance, he
e m hodonym (< G . ὁδός hodós ‘pa h’) is used no only in onomas ics, bu also in ce ain
in as uc u al con ex s. Simila ly, he e m poe onym (< G . ποιητός poiē os ‘c ea ed,
p oduced’) o igina ed in li e a y s udies and was subsequen ly adop ed by li e a y
onomas ics and, in pa allel, by o he b anches o onomas ics in which he c ea i e po en ial
o names is applica ed. Such de elopmen s ha e led o he eme gence o mo e specialised
ca ego ies o li e a y p ope names wi hin speci ic cul u al domains, including o ma ions
such as an h opoe onyms, opopoe onyms, my hopoe onyms, heopoe onyms and zoopoe onyms
(c . G a 2020: 125).
4
Pa a-onomas ic e minology comp ises concep s and e ms si ua ed on he pe iphe y o onomas ic inqui y. I
encompasses in e disciplina y no ions ele an o he s udy o names, as well as specula i e, non-s anda d, o
scien i ically un ounded cons uc s ha imi a e onomas ic concep ualisa ion while emaining de ached om
es ablished heo e ical and me hodological ounda ions.
5
Fo mo e on he e m ma konym and i s equi alen s o a ian s (e.g. i monyms o logonyms), see
A. Gałkowski (2022).
5
3. LINGUISTIC STRATEGIES OF METAONOMASTIC TERM
FORMATION: MONORHEMATIC NEOLOGISMS AND DESCRIPTIVE
MODELS
Th ee p incipal g oups o o ma i e echniques can be dis inguished among he
linguis ic s a egies unde lying bo h s ic and non-s ic onomas ic e minology, wi h
special ega d o me aonomas ic o ma ions. These a e hose ha enable he e minological
iden i ica ion o “names o names”, “names o collec ions o names”, and “names o
subdi isions o onomas ic s udies”.
G oup |1| → The o ma ion o con en ional mono hema ic (syn he ic) e ms in
acco dance wi h es ablished p inciples o onomas ic e m o ma ion (e.g. limnonym,
limnonymy, limnonomas ics; limnonymic and limnonomas ic < G . λίμνη límnē ‘lake’).
G oup |2| → The o ma ion o desc ip i e e ms wi hin a nominal poly hema ic
(analy ic) model (in English, ypically: class o onymic objec s + name/denomina ion, o
name/denomina ion + o + class o onymic objec s). This pa e n has analogous ealisa ions
in di e en languages. Examples include Eng. lake names o names o lakes = Pol. nazwy
jezio = Li h. eže ų pa adinimai, e c. A ela ed pa e n is ep esen ed by cons uc ions
consis ing o a key e m, such as onymy, an h oponymy, oponymy, u banonymy, e c.,
ollowed by a complemen , o example, Eng. u banonymy o Vilnius = Pol. u banonimia
Wilna = Li h. Vilniaus u banonimija.
G oup |3| → The o ma ion o desc ip i e e ms wi hin an adjec i al syn agma ic
model (key e m: onym, onymy o onomas ics + ela ional adjec i e). The adjec i e may
deno e a class o onymic objec s o indica e a spa ial, empo al, his o ical, cul u al, linguis ic
o discu si e e e ence. Examples include Li huanian names, Li huanian onymy, and
Li huanian onomas ics.
G oup |1| ep esen s a ype o single-wo d neologism based on compounding,
ypically in ol ing wo lexical componen s o o man s, and mo e a ely h ee. Fo example,
he wo-elemen compound hagionym (< G . ἅγιος hágios ‘sain ’) can be analysed as hagio +
onym, whe eas he h ee-elemen compound hagio oponym consis s o hagio + opo + onym.
In he la e case, i is also possible o in e p e he s uc u e as a wo-elemen compound:
hagio + oponym.
The ini ial componen usually unc ions as a p e ix wi h a seman ically de e mina i e
and dis inc i e ole. Howe e , he second componen canno be classi ied as a su ix in he
adi ional sense, despi e displaying ce ain su ix-like p ope ies. When c ea ing neological
me aonomas ic e ms, he cons i uen o man s ha e a complex mo phological s a us,
combining a ixal and hema ic componen s — in o he wo ds, hey unc ion as bo h bound
elemen s and s ems.
The nume ous e ms iden i ied in G oup |1| cons i u e a subs an ial ese oi o
specialised echnical o ma ions. Ne e heless, he issue is no only hei quan i y, bu also
hei quali y, as e idenced by he p esence o double s and iple s based on La in, G eek,
and occasionally o he linguis ic sou ces. This a ia ion hinde s e minological uni ica ion a
bo h he na ional and in e na ional le els.
These o ma ions p o ide no ewo hy examples o lexical inno a ion, o en a ising
om indi idual a emp s o coin new e ms. Once in oduced in o schola ly discou se, hey
end o pe sis and ci cula e beyond he immedia e bounda ies o onomas ic esea ch. Such
phenomena a e illus a ed by double s in he Polish onomas ic e minology, o example
speleonim (< G . σπήλαιον spḗlaion ‘ca e, ca e n’) and *kawonim [sic!] (< La . ca us, ca a
‘ca e’), which bo h e e o ca e names. Ano he Polish example is he pai hodonim and
*wianim, which deno e names o ou es in bo h u ban and u al spaces. The e m *wianim
(< La . ia ‘ oad’ o ‘s ee ’) ends o be associa ed wi h ex a-u ban a eas, such as moun ain

6
pa hs
6
. T iple s can also be obse ed in in e na ional e minology. Fo ins ance, he
designa ion o illage names includes comonym (< G . κώμη kṓmē ‘ illage’), iconym (<
La . icus ‘ illage’) and u onym (< La . us ‘ ilage’, u alis ‘ u al’).
G oups |2| and |3|, in u n, comp ise mul iwo d ph aseological o ma ions
consis ing o wo o mo e elemen s. Typically, one o hese unc ions as a key onomas ic
e m, i.e. a pi o elemen also p esen in he compounds o G oup |1|, including name,
denomina ion, onym, onymy, o onomas ics. The emaining elemen s ac as seman ic
modi ie s, de ining he scope o ele an e minological and concep ual ca ego ies, o
example, names o Li huanian ci ies o Bal osla ic hyd onymy.
4. THE BOUNDARIES OF ONOMASTIC TERMINOLOGY AND ITS
FUNCTIONAL AND SEMANTIC DIMENSIONS
One po en ial objec ion ela es o e ms ha speci y pa icula e e ence domains,
such as e i o y, empo al scope, he cha ac e is ics o indi iduals o social communi ies,
and o mal linguis ic ea u es. In he case o G oups |2| and |3|, desc ip i e e ms end o
ha e a mo e limi ed scope. This aises he ques ion o whe he hei e minological s a us is
weake han ha o mo e gene al desc ip i e exp essions, o o he gene alising single-wo d
o ms cha ac e is ic o G oup |1|, simply because hey con ain a ibu i e elemen s ha
speci y hei e e ence.
This he o ical ques ion could p omp b oade e lec ions on he scope o onomas ic
and scien i ic e minology (c . Włoskowicz 2018). While he s uc u al o ms o a se o
e ms a e ela i ely easy o iden i y, de ining hei bounda ies and concep ual con en is
conside ably mo e di icul . A ansi ional o bo de line zone can be ecognized, which may
include names o u ban o ex a-u ban in as uc u e, such as b idges o unnels. Al hough
o en classi ied as hodonyms, hey emain e minologically uns able. The co esponding
ca ego ies a e no always consis en ly dis inguished wi hin onomas ic sys ems, placing hem
a he in e ace be ween es ablished classi ica ions and hei modi ied a ian s.
I is wo h emphasising ha his kind o e minological ca ego isa ion, which
depends on he na u al o cul u al ypology o e e en s, e lec s he bounda y o
in e media e zone o onomas ic e minology, and simul aneously e eals essen ial ea u es o
p ope names. While he p op ial s a us o a gi en name may some imes be deba able, he
exis ence o he co esponding onymic objec is beyond ques ion. In p inciple, any angible
o in angible en i y, including imagina y ones, may be designa ed by a p ope name.
Consequen ly, hese en i ies’ names become objec s o onomas ic in e es , mo i a ing he
sea ch o app op ia e ca ego ising solu ions wi hin onomas ic e minology.
The ange o es ablished and eme ging onomas ic e ms cons i u es he ocabula y o
wha may be called he “onomas ic language”: he e minological ne wo k speci ic o he
a ious b anches o onomas ic discou se. This discou se has a signi ican capaci y o g ow h
and abso p ion o e minology, which di ec ly a ec s he cla i y and e ec i eness o
onomas ic and non-onomas ic ex s. While e minological elabo a ion can imp o e
desc ip i e accu acy, excessi e p oli e a ion can educe anspa ency and impede b oade
comp ehension.
5. READABILITY, SCIENTIFIC PRESTIGE, AND THE ILLUSION OF
TERMINOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION
Te ms o med acco ding o he models in G oups |2| and |3| gene ally ha e
a highe deg ee o eadabili y and cla i y han neological o ma ions in G oup |1|. The
6
Bo h he e ms, *kawonim and *wianim, a e unusual (a es ed in Mazu ski 2015). The la e , in pa icula , is
an insu icien ly jus i ied hyb id o ma ion ha e ains only he segmen -nim (= -nym) om he elemen onim
(= onym), which is appended o he La in base ia.
7
la e o en c ea e he imp ession o scien i ic sophis ica ion and, by ex ension, enhance he
pe cei ed impo ance o he objec s subjec ed o naming o o he onomas ic p ocesses.
5.1. Pseudo-onomas ic p oli e a ion: excessi e neologisa ion and p oblema ic
ca ego isa ion
The issue o excessi e and uncon olled neologisa ion in con empo a y onomas ic
e minology is pa icula ly e iden in zoonomas ics, whe e e minological in en o ies o en
expand as e han hey can be empi ically and unc ionally jus i ied. This endency appea s
in lexicog aphic a emp s o ca ego ise animal- ela ed p ope names wi h inc easing
p ecision.
A ecen glossa y o Uk ainian onomas ic e minology by Olena Ka penko and
Vale iia Nekleso a (DUOT 2024) en e s a wide ange o zoonomas ic e ms, many o which
a e o ques ionable use ulness and discu si e alue. A he same ime, some o hese e ms
build on p e ious a emp s o in oduce zoonomas ic e minology in o Uk ainian and Sla ic
onomas ics (see SUOT 2012) and co espond o ecognised ca ego ies wi hin he discipline,
o example au onym ‘name o a bull’, and hipponym ‘name o a ho se’, bo h o which a e
widely accep ed and unc ionally jus i ied
7
.
O he o ma ions, including * aconym ‘name o a cow’ and *cap onym o *caponym
[sic!] ‘name o a goa ’, ex end his model wi h a ying deg ees o consis ency. This endency
also conce ns concep s such as * ulponym ‘name o a ox’, * ig onym ‘name o a ige ’,
*psi aconym ‘name o a bi d’ o es udonym ‘name o a u le’ (DUOT 2024: s. .). They
aise ques ions ega ding hei scope and unc ional jus i ica ion. Some o hese e ms a e
likely o ha e been c ea ed o deno e se s o names assigned o animals kep in domes ic o
con olled en i onmen s.
In o he ins ances, as wi h * e mi onym ‘name o a e mi e o an ’, *muskonym [sic!]
‘name o a ly’ o *a achnonym ‘name o a spide ’ (DUOT 2024: s. .), he empi ical basis
and eal applicabili y emain insu icien ly subs an ia ed. Mo e p ecisely, his discussion
does no add ess axonomic species names. These a e usually included in b oade lexical
ca ego ies. Examples o naming insec s (c . *insec onym), among hem e mi es, an s, lies
and spide s appea o be a e and con ex -dependen , occu ing chie ly in media
p oduc ions and li e a y ex s.
Al hough phenomena o his kind may a imes be iewed as ma ginal o anecdo al,
hei ep esen a ion in DUOT (2024) poin s o a sys ema ic endency a he han isola ed
occu ences. Many o he p oposed e ms esul om insu icien ly con olled p ocesses o
lexical o ma ion, pa icula ly in cases in ol ing he use and adap a ion o G eek o La in
o man s, which a e no always applied cohe en ly o in a linguis ically well-mo i a ed
manne .
The p oli e a ion o his ype o pseudo-onomas ic e minology may ha e nega i e
consequences o onomas ics, linguis ics, and he wide domain o scien i ic discou se. I
in oduces inconsis encies and unde mines e minological anspa ency. These issues also
ex end o o he lexicog aphical wo ks. Fo example, nume ous e ms in en ed by Ad ian
Room in GLNS (1996) aise simila doub s conce ning hei concep ual g ounding and
schola ly legi imacy
8
.
5.2. Concep ual and seman ic isks in e minological inno a ion
The cen al conce n in his ype o e minological wo k and in he in oduc ion o
indi idual e ms o add ess speci ic esea ch p oblems lies no in hei o mal s uc u e, bu
in hei a ional and concep ual g ounding. The in oduc ion o new e ms o en en ails he
7
The e m au onym has a synonym: *boonym (c . I . boonimo, TON 2018: s. .).
8
Fo a discussion o he ques ionable scien i ic alue o GLNS (1996), see L. Zgus a (1998) and A. Gałkowski
(2021).
8
es ablishmen o ca ego ies whose alidi y may be conside ed p oblema ic wi hin onomas ics
o ela ed disciplines.
An illus a i e example is *e o onym, which is de ined as “a name o e m o add ess
used casually o egula ly by a lo e o a lo ed one o by a close iend o ano he ” (GLNS
1996: 37–38). He e, he seman ic scope o he G eek wo d ἔρως e os ‘lo e’ is b oadened o
include addi ional cul u al associa ions. F om an onomas ic pe spec i e, howe e , he
designa ed phenomenon may be mo e accu a ely desc ibed using es ablished ca ego ies,
such as pe sonal names o an a ec iona e o in ima e na u e, i.e. hypoco is ic, me apho ical,
o me onymic o ms.
This pa e n is e iden in a numbe o newly p oposed e ms in DUOT (2024),
including * i onym (< La . i a ‘li e’), which is de ined as “a p ope name o a li ing
c ea u e”. This coinage e ec i ely duplica es a adi ional dis inc ion in in e na ional
onomas ics: he G eek-based e m bionym, opposed o abionym, has been in use o se e al
decades
9
. Simila ly, he e m o a onym, de i ed om a lexical base ound in di e en
Sla ic languages (e.g. Uk . товар, Pol. owa , meaning ‘p oduc ’ o ‘me chandise’), is
de ined as “a sub ype o p agma onym, ch ema onym, a p ope name o a adema k”
(DUOT 2024: 86). In his in e p e a ion, bo h he e ymological mo i a ion and he
concep ual posi ioning o he e m depa om adi ional pa e ns o in e na ional
onomas ic e minology.
5.3. Beyond he classical code: hyb idisa ion and e minological ins abili y
As no ed in G oup |1|, newly coined me aonomas ic e ms a e ypically o med
a ound a guiding componen , i.e. a hema ic head e e ing o he named objec and de i ed
p ima ily om he classical linguis ic he i age, mos o en G eek and, less equen ly, La in.
Occasionally, hese o ma ions also inco po a e elemen s d awn om mode n languages
such as F ench o English. Fo example, *pe umonym ‘pe um name’
(Sk. *pe umonymum < Eng. pe um o *pa umonymum < F . pa um; see Molná o á 2021;
Kolenčíko á 2023; c . Odaloš 2022: 373) o *skionym ‘name o a ski eso ’ (Sk. skionymum
< Eng. ski; see Wach a czyko á 2012), as well as o he non-classical bases, as illus a ed by
* o a onym (c . sup a).
Wi hin his amewo k, he accep abili y o o ms like *b endonym [sic!] (DUOT
2024: 24), which has been used as a synonym o he widely es ablished and in e na ionally
ecognised e m b and name, is highly con es able. The e m *b endonym ( ec e
b andonym?) is de i ed om a phone ic adap a ion o he Uk ainian брендове ім’я /
брендонім ‘b and name’, ye i s ans e in o English dis ega ds es ablished o hog aphic
con en ions. In his o m, he e m is unlikely o be accep ed in schola ly usage.
Cons uc ions o his ype a e di icul o econcile wi h he con en ions o onomas ic
e minology, whe e e minological inno a ion is ypically based on G eco-La in models and
heo e ically g ounded onomas ic mo i a ion. Thei use may ne e heless be jus i ied in
in e disciplina y o b anding- ela ed se ings, whe e di e en naming amewo ks and
communica i e p io i ies apply.
Ano he example is he e m *schoolonym, which is heo e ically de i ed om he
G . σχολή scholē ‘school’, ye displays a hyb id o hog aphy combining classical and English
elemen s (DUOT 2024: 79). The de ini ion o his e m is concep ually oublesome as i
assigns wo dis inc and incompa ible in e p e a ions: on he one hand, *schoolonym is
explained as “a sub ype o a chi ec u onym, u banonym [sic!], mic o oponym, a p ope
9
In OSTSO (1983), he wo e ms occupy he highes le el o he e minological sys em. They cons i u e i s
wo p incipal b anches and se e as o e a ching hype onyms o all subo dina e concep s: bionyms a e p ope
names designa ing li ing beings and biological en i ies, whe eas abionyms a e p ope names designa ing non-
li ing na u al objec s, a e ac s, and phenomena.
9
name o o an educa ional ins i u ion”, and on he o he , as “a sub ype o e gonym, a g oup
o people who wo k he e” (ibid.). This de ini ional ambigui y unde mines he cohe ence
and consis ency o he unde lying ca ego isa ion.
6. THE LIMITS OF UNRESTRAINED TERMINOLOGICAL CREATIVITY
The e a e inhe en limi s o e minological c ea i i y. This is mos e iden when
newly coined e ms no only comp omise he in e nal cohe ence o a gi en linguis ic
adi ion bu also hinde hei ans e abili y ac oss languages h ough ansla ion o
adap a ion.
As he con empo a y lingua anca o scien i ic communica ion, he English language
is pa icula ly suscep ible o his ype o ac i i y, which elies on meanings cons uc ed a
andom. Howe e , his does no mean ha English can accep all models o e minological
inno a ion uncondi ionally, e en when he lexical ma e ial used in e minological
o ma ions d aws on classical and in e na ional sou ces. Coinages in oduced unc i ically
in o in e na ional ci cula ion, mainly by non-na i e speake s seeking o uni e salise locally
g ounded models, o en p o e concep ually and s uc u ally uncon incing, e en when hey
add ess phenomena open o legi ima e schola ly enqui y.
Recen publica ions by younge schola s o en ely on loosely de eloped
concep ualisa ions, esul ing in ad hoc p oli e a ion o pseudo-onomas ic e ms. Fo example,
in a s udy by Te iana Khadzhylii (2024), ideonym unc ions as a supe o dina e ca ego y o
names o c ea i e human wo ks (c . SOT 2024: 145), bu is u he subdi ided in o
inc easingly indi idualised classes and subclasses. In his classi ica ion, *a ionym is
subsumed as a mo e speci ic class o names e e ing o wo ks o a . In u n, *imageonym (c .
*imagonym [sic!] in DUOT 2024: s. .) is ea ed as a u he subca ego y co e ing names
associa ed wi h isual ep esen a ions. This domain is addi ionally subdi ided in o a ange o
mo e na owly de ined concep s, designa ed by e ms d awing on English o in e na ional
lexical bases (c . *pic onyms, *g aphiconyms, *eng a ionyms, *sculp u onyms, *icononyms,
*pho oonyms, *bouque onyms, * ilmonyms, *scenonyms, o *hem onyms, Khadzhylii 2024:
29–30). Such an expansion o he e minological in en o y amoun s o an abuse o he
p inciple o e minological economy and a dis ega d o he necessa y me hodological
es ain in onomas ics, esul ing in an o e abundan and insu icien ly jus i ied p oli e a ion
o (me a)onomas ic e ms.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Despi e he concep ual and me hodological conce ns discussed abo e, inno a i e
e minological solu ions may con ibu e o he consolida ion o concep s ela ing o newly
iden i ied onomas ic phenomena and o he e inemen o exis ing analy ical amewo ks.
The p esen analysis should he e o e no be in e p e ed as a ejec ion o e minological
inno a ion pe se. Ra he , i unde sco es he need o g ea e cau ion in he c ea ion o
(me a)onomas ic e ms, whene e es ablished desc ip i e designa ions al eady p o ide an
adequa e, anspa en and unc ionally e ec i e al e na i e.
The excessi e and uncon olled p oli e a ion o new e ms, o en o mally
inconsis en o lacking su icien a ional mo i a ion, cons i u es a signi ican sou ce o
e minological and me hodological ins abili y. Especially suscep ible o his endency a e
o ma ions based on elemen s d awn om mode n languages, which weaken sys emic
cohe ence and diminish concep ual anspa ency while inc easing e minological opaci y
and os e ing he unchecked expansion o e m–concep cons uc s ailo ed o pa icula
aims. Consequen ly, such de elopmen s may lead o concep ual ins abili y in onomas ic
esea ch, exposing he discipline o c i icism om ela ed ields conce ned wi h s anda dised,
in e na ionally coo dina ed e minological amewo ks. The e o e, a balanced app oach o