nominative determinism

noun

Definitions

  1. A supposed tendency for people to become active in subjects that relate or correspond to…

    A supposed tendency for people to become active in subjects that relate or correspond to their names.

    • A little-known aspect of pop sociology called nominative determinism intrigued Rory Honeyman for a very good reason. Except for a concatenation of historical accidents, he would have fallen under its purview himself.
    • I need hardly add that he is a prime example of that scientific principle known as nominative determinism — being a man who uses telescopes, called I. Glass!
    • Nominative determinism is usually applied to the idea that someone's name may influence their future. Would Usain Bolt have run as swiftly with the name “Usain Plod”?

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for nominative determinism. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA