patronymic

Meanings

Adjective

• Derived from one's father.
• Derived from one's ancestors.

Noun

• A name acquired from one's father.
• A name acquired from one's father's, grandfather's or earlier (male) ancestor's first name. Some cultures use a patronymic where other cultures use a surname or family name; other cultures (like Russia) use both a patronymic and a surname.

Related

Similar words

• patronym

Origin

• From Ancient Greek πατήρ + ὄνυμα (a variant form of ὄνομα). Also patronym + -ic, from patri- + -onym