mononym

UK /ˈmɒnə(ʊ)nɪm/ US /ˈmɑnəˌnɪm/
noun 2

Definitions

noun

1

A single name or term by which a person, thing, etc., is known.

The atlas and axis have special names, but most of the vertebra, like the ribs, are merely numbered ; among the arteries, the aorta only has a mononym ;

Briefly, the adoption of calcar is a logical corollary of the recommendation which is common to the reports of all four American committees, vi., "Other things being equal, it is recommended that mononyms be preferred to polynyms." Calcar avis is a polyonym ; calcar is a mononym. If it be said that unguis is also a mononym, the answer is that in this case "other things" would not be equal, because (1) no general preference has ever been shown for it or for any term of which it is a constituent; (2) there would be lost the advantage of the correlation now existing between the ental ridge and the fissure collacated therewith.

2

A single term for a thing or concept, allowing for no synonyms.

ISO 704 and ISO 1087 prescribe mononymy as highly desirable for standardized terminologies, but as experience shows, individuals in developing disciplines (having unsettled terminology) are rarely able to agree on mononyms.

After usage has created consensus on a mononym, it becomes possible to treat the accepted (preferred) forms in a terminographic glossary...

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