Duonyms

A duonym is a word made up of two words that are put together to make a word with a new meaning. For example, in the word "butterfly" the words "butter" and "fly" are put together to form a word with a new meaning. Other examples are "baseball" and "egghead." The word "duonym" is formed on the model of "synonym" and "antonym". Some people have said... that a duonym is the same as a compound word. While this is true, a compound word can be made up of more than two words, like "newspaperman," while a duonym is made up of only two words. Secondly, it is convenient to have a single word that describes this phenomenon. How often do people talk about compound words? Even though we use them all the time, to my knowledge no one has tried to catalog them, explain in detail their significance, or show in a systematic way what value they have. The advent of the Internet and the pressure of space in publishing are two forces that have brought out the value of duonyms. A domain name, which is something that can be purchased and turned into a website, cannot have a blank space. And some of the most valuable websites are duonyms - preferably on the short side. Just knowing about duonyms can be a great generator for domain names. According to Godaddy, three of the four most expensive domain names sold were duonyms: Another point is that language is not static like a mountain; it changes continuously like the ocean. Duonyms provide a way to accommodate the changing nature of language. Duonyms often start as two different words. Then as something becomes important enough to require its own name, or changes in a way to require a unique name, the two words are put together to form a duonym. They may even go through a hyphenation stage. "Typewriter" is a good example. Originally, in the mid-1800s, was written as two words, though sometimes they were hyphenated. Eventually, as the technology evolved, it began to be written as the duonym we have today. Our language is inadequate to describe our changing experience. Duonyms are one ...Read More