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Glite Dictionary
hagionym

hagionym

9.9
A saint's name that people use for a place or building
  • noun
  • /ˈheɪɡiəˌnɪm/
  • Specialized
: hagionimia
  • The town was named after the hagionym of Saint Peter.

Examples

  • St. Paul is a well-known hagionym in many cities.

  • The linguist wrote an article about the influence of hagionyms in European toponymy.

  • In medieval Europe, it was common to use a hagionym for new churches and settlements.

  • The hagionyms of saints often reflect local history.

  • The town was named after the hagionym of Saint Peter.

  • In medieval Europe, it was common to use a hagionym for new churches and settlements.

  • St. Paul is a well-known hagionym in many cities.

Surface Forms

hagionym singular
hagionyms plural

Morphology

hagionym = hagio + onym

The term is built from specialist combining forms 'hagio-' and '-onym' that are not standalone English words and the compound is a technical term unlikely to be derivable by a B1 learner from known words.

Etymology

The word hagionym comes from two Greek parts, hagio- meaning 'holy' and -onym meaning 'name', the same -onym you see in synonym. So a hagionym is a 'holy name', the name of a saint used to name a place or church, for example 'Saint Peter'.