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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
Namesake
Hi,
If person A has the same name as person B, there are called namesakes?
Case 1; Person A is called Jim Smith. Person B is called Jim Jones.
What is a natural way to say that A and B are "namesake by their first name"?
Case 2. Person A is called Jim Smith. Person B is called John Smith.
How to convey the idea that person A and person B are "namesake by their last name"?
Case 3. Finaly, assume persons A and B have the same first name as well as the same last name. How to say that they are "full namesakes"?
hope my questions make sense :-)
mus-te
If person A has the same name as person B, there are called namesakes?
Case 1; Person A is called Jim Smith. Person B is called Jim Jones.
What is a natural way to say that A and B are "namesake by their first name"?
Case 2. Person A is called Jim Smith. Person B is called John Smith.
How to convey the idea that person A and person B are "namesake by their last name"?
Case 3. Finaly, assume persons A and B have the same first name as well as the same last name. How to say that they are "full namesakes"?
hope my questions make sense :-)
mus-te
Top answer
In the first place, they are not namesakes unless one person was given the name because the other person had that name ('sake' means 'purpose or reason'). So your case 1 seems unlikely because the name is so common, while case 2 is unlikely because we inherit surnames, we are not given them. However, your question makes sense, but they would all be 'namesakes', with context making it obvious which parts of the name were meant.
- In the first place, they are not namesakes unless one person was given the name because the other person had that name ('sake' means 'purpose or reason').
- So your case 1 seems unlikely because the name is so common, while case 2 is unlikely because we inherit surnames, we are not given them.
- However, your question makes sense, but they would all be 'namesakes', with context making it obvious which parts of the name were meant.
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4 Answers
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In the first place, they are not namesakes unless one person was given the name because the other person had that name ('sake' means 'purpose or reason'). So your case 1 seems unlikely because the name is so common, while case 2 is unlikely because we inherit surnames, we are not given them.
However, your question makes sense, but they would all be 'namesakes', with context making
However, your question makes sense, but they would all be 'namesakes', with context making
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Mister Micawber:
Many thanks for responding to (the most of) my today's postings.
Regarding 'namesake'.
Looks like my interpretation of 'namesake' has always been (and still is) wrong...
My collins gives the following two possibilities:
1) a person or thing named after another
2) a person or thing with the same name as another
Many thanks for responding to (the most of) my today's postings.
Regarding 'namesake'.
Looks like my interpretation of 'namesake' has always been (and still is) wrong...
My collins gives the following two possibilities:
1) a person or thing named after another
2) a person or thing with the same name as another
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I have never heard it used in the sense of #2, and certainly would not expect it of a classroom with 3 or 4 Johns. Only 'they have the same name'.
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