S
o difficult it is to show the various meanings and imperfections
of words when we have nothing else but words to do it with,”
wrote philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). While there’s truth in
Locke’s assertion, it’s possible to overcome the difficulty to some
extent. We construct small unambiguous building blocks, define
them as precisely as we can, and then put them to work for bigger
purposes (though in some languages, such as German, we often get
carried away).
In this chapter we feature word words, or meta-words, all of
which end with the combining form -onym (name or word).
exonym (EK-so-nim)
noun A name used by foreigners to refer to a place or people,
instead of the name used by those who live there. For example:
Cologne (native term: Köln), Florence (Firenze), Japan (Nihon/
Nippon), Italy (Italia), Brazil (Brasil).
From Greek ex- (out) + -onym (word, name).
● “Roger Payne:“Vienna being an exonym, which is a name that
other people use, but the German or Austrian form is Wien.”
—National Public Radio’s Morning Edition
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CHAPTER 38
Words about
Words II
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The counterpart of exonym is endonym, the name used by the locals.
Can you guess what these endonyms refer to? Hints are in parenthe-
ses. The answers (their English exonyms) are at the end of the book.
Livorno (a city in west Italy)
Moskva (a capital city)
Hellas (the country that hosted 2004 Olympics)

S
TRAVINSKY
, composer (1882–1971)
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cryptonym (KRIP-tuh-nim)
noun A code name or secret name.
From Greek crypto- (secret, hidden) + -onym (word, name).
● “‘Bek’ was Sergei Kurnakov, a Soviet journalist working in
New York; ‘Camp-2’ was the US scientific research centre at
Los Alamos, and ‘Enormous’ was Moscow’s cryptonym for the
Manhattan Project, America’s top-secret programme to develop
the atomic bomb.”
—Guardian (London)
teknonym (TEK-nuh-nim)
noun A name derived from a child’s name that is used to address
a parent. For example, Johnsdad.
From Greek teknon (child) + -onym (name).
● “A Baatonu does not automatically receive a teknonym when
he or she becomes a parent, as is the custom among other
ethnic groups.”
—Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
158
ANOTHER WORD A DAY
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
—
H
ENRY
D
AVID
T

159
To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you,
and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations—
such is a pleasure beyond compare.
—
K
ENKO
Y
OSHIDA
, essayist (1283–1350)
And in the New World
I was thinking how obscure and esoteric a word teknonym was
when I realized a modern source of them. On parenting Web
sites, message boards abound with nicknames like
“nicksmom” or “mom2sarah.”
—Amy Buttery, Lansing, Michigan
I needed a “handle” for corresponding with other parents
when organizing school events (band concerts, science fairs,
etc.): “Hello, Hannah’sMom, I’m Jake’sDad. They’re in the
same class and . . .”
—Becky Manning, Madison,Wisconsin
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160
ANOTHER WORD A DAY
Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful,
more simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her
inventions, nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous.
—
L
EONARDO DA

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W
hat comes to mind when one thinks of Africa? Tribal wars?
The AIDS epidemic? Mass starvation? Those subjects provide
most of the news from Africa, but there’s much more we should
know about that vast continent.
Great cultures developed in Africa before it was ravaged by
centuries of slavery and colonialism. Africa has been called the cra-
dle of civilization, and that’s no exaggeration. It’s believed the first
humans evolved there millions of years ago; the oldest fossils of our
human ancestors have been found on the African continent.
Today Africa is home to more than fifty countries, some one
thousand languages, and a rich mosaic of stories, drumbeats, and
landscapes. The English language has borrowed words from many
of Africa’s languages: trek, aardvark, impala, gnu, okra to name a few.
In this chapter we’ll see words that originate in African languages.
zombie also zombi (ZOM-bee)
noun 1. A person behaving like an automaton: listless, wooden, or
lacking energy. 2. A snake god in West Indian, Brazilian, and West
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CHAPTER 39
Words Borrowed
from African
Languages
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African religions. 3. In voodoo, a supernatural force or spirit that
can enter a dead body; also, the soulless body that is revived in this
manner. 4. A computer process that has died but is still listed in the
process table. 5. A drink made of various kinds of rum, liqueur, and
fruit juice.

zombie. My wife and I worked as freelance technical writers
for ANSA.
Borland is a zombie too, from all appearances. So the
“brilliant” venture capitalist who funded Compaq did not
repeat his success, an always-difficult feat in this area.
—Markham Robinson,Vacaville, California
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veld (velt, felt), also veldt
noun Open grassland in southern Africa.
From Afrikaans veld,from Dutch veld (field).
● “The fiercely waged struggle which went on between humans
and felines in those far-off days when sabre-toothed tiger and
cave lion contended with primeval man, has long ago been
decided in favour of the most fitly equipped combatant—the
Thing with a Thumb—and the descendants of the dispossessed
family are relegated to-day, for the most part, to the waste lands
of jungle and veld, where an existence of self-effacement is the
only alternative to extermination.”
—Hector Hugh Munro (Saki),“The Achievement of the Cat”
juju (JOO-joo)
noun 1. A fetish or charm. 2. The magic or supernatural power
attributed to such an object.
Of uncertain origin, perhaps from west African language Hausa juju
(fetish), probably from French joujou (toy).
● “So next time they were flying, his pilot aimed the plane
upward at a steep angle and then pointed it downward, and
through whatever aeronautical juju was created, Francis found
himself floating in the air.”
—Rolling Stone
spoor (spoor, spor)