anonymous

Borrowed into English around 1600 from Late Latin anonymus, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νώνῠμος (anṓnumos, “without name”), from ᾰ̓ν- (an-, “un-”) with ὄνῠμᾰ (ónuma), Aeolic and Doric dialectal form of ὄνομᾰ (ónoma, “name”).

• IPA^(key): /əˈnɒnəməs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒnəməs

anonymous (comparative more anonymous, superlative most anonymous)

1. (not comparable) Lacking a name; not named, for example an animal not assigned to any species.
2. (not comparable) Without any name acknowledged of a person responsible

   an anonymous pamphlet; an anonymous subscription.

   anonymous author

3. (not comparable) Of unknown name; whose name is withheld

   an anonymous author; an anonymous benefactor.

   The anonymous contributors of Wikipedia

   • 2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian‎:

     The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy.

   No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.

4. (comparable, figuratively) Lacking individuality.

   an anonymous office block in a soulless industrial estate

• (lacking a name): nameless
• (without acknowledged responsible agent):
• (of unknown name): unidentified, unknown, unnamed
• (lacking individuality): faceless
• (without consideration of prestige or background): on the merits

• onymous

• anonymous on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• John Doe
• unknown

• anonymous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• anonymous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.