idionym

English

Etymology

From idio- +‎ -nym.

Noun

idionym (plural idionyms)

1. (anatomy) A word that refers to one specific anatomical part.
   • 1896, The journal of comparative neurology, page 221:

     In fact, this term, as coined and defined by me, is now an idionym, applicable to but a single part of the brain.

2. A mononym.
   • 1995, Ann Williams, The English and the Norman conquest, page 207:

     Before 1066, each individual was identified by a single, distinctive name (an idionym). This contrasts very strongly with the present-day system of naming, which consists of at least two components, a ‘first-name’ plus a surname ‘denoting a patrilinear family group’.

3. (taxonomy, dated) A specific epithet; the name of a species.
   • 1907, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, page 1014:

     Haworth's idionym “v-flava” has been changed to “v-flavum,” despite its acceptance, with explanation of derivation, by the Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge […]