Editing Demonym (section)

{{Short description|Name for a resident of a particular geographical area}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Linguistics}}

A '''demonym''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|m|ə|n|ɪ|m}}; {{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|δῆμος}}'' ({{grc-transl|δῆμος}})|[[people]], [[tribe]]||''{{wikt-lang|grc|ὄνυμα}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὄνυμα}})|[[name]]}}) or 'gentilic' ({{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|gentilis}}|of a [[clan]], or [[gens]]}})<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|gentilic |access-date=25 July 2015}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentilic |title=Definition of GENTILIC |access-date=25 July 2015 |archive-date=25 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725063643/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentilic }}.</ref> is a [[word]] that identifies a [[Cultural group|group]] of [[people]] ([[inhabitants]], [[residents]], [[natives]]) in relation to a particular place.{{sfn|Roberts|2017|p=205}} Demonyms are usually derived from the [[name]] of the [[place]] ([[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]], [[village]], [[town]], [[city]], [[region]], [[province]], [[State (polity)|state]], [[country]], and [[continent]]).<ref name="Scheetz">{{Cite book |title=Names' Names: A Descriptive and Pervasive Onymicon |first=George H. |last=Scheetz |publisher=Schütz Verlag |year=1988}}</ref> Demonyms are used to designate all people (the general population) of a particular place, regardless of ethnic, linguistic, religious or other cultural differences that may exist within the population of that place. Examples of demonyms include ''Cochabambino'', for someone from the city of [[Cochabamba]]; [[Tunisians|Tunisian]] for a person from Tunisia; and ''[[Swahili people|Swahili]]'', for a person of the [[Swahili coast]].

Many demonyms function both [[endonym and exonym|endonymically and exonymically]] (used by the referents themselves or by outsiders); others function only in one of those ways.

As a sub-field of [[anthroponymy]], the study of demonyms is called ''demonymy'' or ''demonymics''.

Since they are referring to territorially defined groups of people, demonyms are [[Semantics|semantically]] different from [[ethnonym]]s (names of [[Ethnicity|ethnic groups]]). In the [[English language]], there are many [[Polysemy|polysemic]] words that have several meanings (including demonymic and ethnonymic uses), and therefore a particular use of any such word depends on the context. For example, the word ''Thai'' may be used as a demonym, designating any inhabitant of [[Thailand]], while the same word may also be used as an ethnonym, designating members of the [[Thai people]]. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms. For example, a native of the [[United Kingdom]] may be called a ''[[British people|British person]]'', a ''Briton'' or, informally, a ''Brit''.

Some demonyms may have several meanings. For example, the demonym ''Macedonians'' may refer to the population of [[North Macedonia]], or more generally to the entire population of the [[Macedonia (region)|region of Macedonia]], a portion of which is in [[Greece]]. In some languages, a demonym may be borrowed from another language as a nickname or descriptive adjective for a group of people: for example, ''Québécois'', ''Québécoise (female)'' is commonly used in English for a native of the province or city of [[Quebec]] (though ''Quebecer'', ''Quebecker'' are also available).

In English, demonyms are always [[capitalization|capitalized]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mansioningles.com/gram19.htm|title=Gramática Inglesa. Adjetivos Gentilicios|work=mansioningles.com|access-date=2015-03-28|archive-date=2015-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330020141/http://www.mansioningles.com/Gram19.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Often, demonyms are the same as the adjectival form of the place, e.g. ''[[Egypt]]ian'', ''[[Japanese people|Japanese]]'', or ''[[Greeks|Greek]]''. However, they are not necessarily the same, as exemplified by Spanish instead of Spaniard or British instead of Briton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Costa |first=Daniel |title=demonym |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/demonym |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

English commonly uses national demonyms such as ''Brazilian'' or ''Algerian'', while the usage of local demonyms such as ''[[Chicago]]an'', ''[[Okie]]'' or ''[[Paris]]ian'' is less common. Many local demonyms are rarely used and many places, especially smaller towns and cities, lack a commonly used and accepted demonym altogether.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Russia%2CRussian&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Russia%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CRussian%3B%2Cc0|title=Google Ngram Viewer|work=google.com|access-date=2015-03-28|archive-date=2015-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907084731/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Russia%2CRussian&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Russia%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CRussian%3B%2Cc0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Kentucky%2CKentuckian&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Kentucky%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CKentuckian%3B%2Cc0|title=Google Ngram Viewer|work=google.com|access-date=2015-03-28|archive-date=2015-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910061912/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Kentucky%2CKentuckian&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Kentucky%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CKentuckian%3B%2Cc0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Perth%2CPerthite&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Perth%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CPerthite%3B%2Cc0|title=Google Ngram Viewer|work=google.com|access-date=2015-03-28|archive-date=2015-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910050932/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=from+Perth%2CPerthite&year_start=1808&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfrom%20Perth%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CPerthite%3B%2Cc0|url-status=live}}</ref>