Innominate
Adjective
- Not named or classified.
Example Sentences
“The forthcoming book was innominate, but it had already gathered positive reviews from critics.”
“Frankie and Theo had such a long list of potential names that their first baby was innominate for a full month.”
“Since the new species was still innominate, the scientists held a contest for possible names.”
Word Origin
Latin, mid-17th century
Why this word?
“Innominate” originated from the Latin word “innominatus” — which can be broken down into the words “in” (“not”) and “nominatus” (“named”). Many scientists dream of finding an innominate species, or one that hasn’t been named or classified yet. The discoverer could name the species after themselves and be in good company along with Plinthina beyonceae, a horsefly named after Beyoncé; Attenborougharion rubicundus, a snail named after David Attenborough; and Heteragrion freddiemercuryi, H. brianmayi, H. rogertaylori, and H. johndeaconi, four species of damselflies named after the members of Queen.
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