Word of the Day

: August 9, 2015

pseudonym

noun SOO-duh-nihm

What It Means

: a fictitious name; especially : pen name

pseudonym in Context

Instead of using his real name, Edward signed his letter to the editor with the pseudonym "Jack Cramer."

"Author J. K. Rowling announced on Twitter that she has written a third installment of her Cormoran Strike mystery series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith." - Kaitlin Miller, The Sun-Times (Florida), June 16, 2015

Did You Know?

Pseudonym, has its origins in the Greek word pseudōnymos, which means "bearing a false name." Greek speakers formed their word by combining pseud-, meaning "false," and onyma, meaning "name." French speakers adopted the Greek word as pseudonyme, and English speakers later modified the French word into pseudonym. Many celebrated authors have used pseudonyms. Samuel Clemens wrote under the pseudonym "Mark Twain," Charles Lutwidge Dodgson assumed the pseudonym "Lewis Carroll," and Mary Ann Evans used "George Eliot" as her pseudonym.