patronymic

Everyday

1. A name made from the name of your father or a male ancestor, like Johnson (son of John) or Ukrainian Ivanovych (son of Ivan). tree →
2. (adjective) Made from a father's name. tree →

In the lessons

In history, English and languages lessons on names: surnames like Robertson, Williams, O'Brien (Irish «Ó» = descendant), MacDonald (Scottish «Mac» = son), Jones (son of John) began as patronymics. In Ukrainian and Russian, people have a patronymic as a middle name, e.g. Ivanovych or Ivanivna. In Iceland, Björk Guðmundsdóttir means daughter of Guðmundur.

Examples

• Johnson is a patronymic surname meaning son of John. tree →
• In Ukrainian, a patronymic is used in polite address, like Taras Hryhorovych. tree →
• Icelandic people often use patronymics instead of family names. tree →
• «Mac» in MacDonald works like a patronymic. tree →
• Our teacher explained that Fitzgerald means son of Gerald. tree →
• A name from your mother is a matronymic, not a patronymic. tree →

Note

Countable. Pronounced «pa-truh-NIM-ik». From Greek «pater» (father) and «onoma» (name). The female form often has a different ending (Ukrainian -ivna for daughters, -ovych/-yovych for sons).