exonym

Etymology

From exo- (“outside”) +‎ -onym (“name”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛksənɪm/, /ˈɛɡzənɪm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

exonym (plural exonyms)

1. An external name for a place, people or a language used by outgroup members (such as foreigners) instead of ingroup members (such as native-language speakers).

   Synonym: xenonym

   Antonyms: endonym, autonym, selfname

   • 2019 January 4, Sarah Zhang, “Why Mandarin Doesn’t Come From Chinese”, in The Atlantic‎:

     “Mandarin” is what linguists call an exonym, an external name for a place, people, or language. And exonyms often tell of a history of how cultures met, fought, and interacted.

See also

• category:English exonyms for a list

Further reading

• exonym on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “exonym”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.