choronyms
Names for areas
Choronyms are place names—the proper nouns that identify geographic locations.
The term covers names at every scale: continents, countries, regions, cities, neighborhoods, streets.
Linguists and geographers use the word when discussing how places get named, how those names evolve, and what they reveal about history and culture: The choronyms of the American Southwest reflect Spanish colonial influence.
Geographic location's title
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- demonymName for locals
- continentLarge connected landmass
- provinceRegional administrative district
state name · district · locality · atlas · cartography · gazetteer · boundary · nation
Sovereign political territory
- borderOuter edge or limit
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- independenceFreedom from external control
- secessionFormal withdrawal from union
annexation · partition · unification · autonomous zone · federation · republic · kingdom · empire
Word origin study
- naming conventionStandard for assigning identifiers
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- suffixWord-ending addition
derivation · exonym · cognate · loanword · anglicization · transliteration · orthography · pronunciation
Successive family rulers
- indigenous territoryArea historically occupied by natives
- ancestral landInherited family territory
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- restorationReturning something to condition
place name
Geographic location's title
province · state name · district · locality · atlas · cartography · gazetteer · boundary · nation · homeland
nation-state
Sovereign political territory
- borderOuter edge or limit
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- independenceFreedom from external control
secession · annexation · partition · unification · autonomous zone · federation · republic · kingdom · empire · mandate
etymology
Word origin study
- naming conventionStandard for assigning identifiers
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
suffix · derivation · exonym · cognate · loanword · anglicization · transliteration · orthography · pronunciation · spelling variation
dynasty
Successive family rulers
- indigenous territoryArea historically occupied by natives
- ancestral landInherited family territory
- heritageInherited cultural legacy