Endonym
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A name used by a group or category of people (an ingroup) to refer to themselves or their language, as opposed to a name given to them by other groups (outgroups).
"The endonym is the basic toponymic exemplar and as such it needs to be understood properly. To do so we need to appreciate the context of space and place that produces it. Most endonyms arise from the elemental human relationship with space and place, and possess an intrinsic and enduring value which cannot normally be either bestowed or removed by political arbitrariness."
Synonyms
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All antonymsExample
More examples"Endonym (also autonym "self name") is a Greek/English word for a name that a people or country calls themselves or their language. Exonym (also xenonym "foreign name") is a Greek/English word for the opposite, or what a stranger would call someone else's country, people or language. Endonym means "inside name"; while exonym means "outside name"."
Etymology
From endo- (“inside”) + -onym (“name”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.