Noa-name

A noa-name is a word that replaces a taboo word, generally out of fear that the true name would anger or summon the force or being in question. The term derives from the Polynesian concept of '' noa'', which is the antonym of ''tapu'' (from which derives the word ''taboo'') and serves to lift the ''tapu'' from a person or object.

A noa-name is sometimes described as a euphemism, ''Noaord''
at glosbe.com (Swedish) though the meaning is more specific; a noa-name is a non-taboo synonym used to avoid bad luck, and replaces a name considered dangerous. The noa-name may be innocuous or flattering, or it may be more accusatory.Gillis Herlitz & Per Peterson (2011) ''Vargen : hatobjekt och kramdjur''. Liber AB. .

Examples

* In the Germanic languages, the word for 'bear' was replaced with a noa-name meaning 'brown', the Proto-Germanic ''*berô'', with descendants including Swedish , English ''bear'', German and Dutch .
* In Finnish, there are several noa-names for (bear), used instead of calling the animal by its name and inadvertently attracting its attention. The word itself is a noa-name, to avoid using the original (and now relatively uncommon) words or . (See Finnish mythology.)
* In Swedish, the word ('wolf') was replaced by ('stranger'). The spirits of the hearth, (corresponding to the Scottish brownie, or the Cornish pixie), were known as , 'dear little relatives'.
* In Irish folklore, fairies more commonly called sidhe are referred to as 'the little people' or 'the good people.'
* The Icelandic word huldufólk translates to 'the hidden people' and refers to supernatural beings otherwise known as álfar (elves).
* In English, the Devil has been referred to by a variety of names (e.g. 'Old Nick', 'Mr. Scratch') to avoid attracting his attention through his name.
* In Greek legend, the Erinyes (the Furies, the spirits of revenge) were commonly known as the ''Eumenides'' ('the benevolent ones'). Additionally, Hades, god of the underworld, was usually referred to with euphemisms like ''Ploútōn'' ('the wealthy one') in order to avoid attracting his attention.
* Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain is one of the Ten Commandments in Abrahamic religion.
** ''The Lord'' is therefore used instead by Anglophone Christians, analogous to terms like the Latin
** In Jewish culture, it is forbidden to speak the name of God (represented as YHWH) and the noa-name ''adonai'', 'my lord', or ''HaShem'', 'the Name', is used instead.
* To avoid the negative connotations of the left side and left-handedness, most Romance languages created noa-names to avoid Latin : see French , Spanish , Romanian . Also Greek created (), a derivation from (, "best") to avoid ().

See also

* Apotropaic names are negative words applied to ward off evil.
*Avoidance speech, a sociolinguistic phenomenon found in some aboriginal languages
*Heiti
*Kenning
* The love that dare not speak its name
* Mokita, a Trobriand term that translates as 'the truth we all know but agree not to talk about'
*The evil wizard Lord Voldemort, typically referred to in the Harry Potter series as "He Who Must Not Be Named" or "You-Know-Who"
*The name of the William Shakespeare play ''Macbeth'' is, by longstanding theatrical custom, not to be mentioned in order to avoid bad luck; reference is instead made, for instance, to "the Scottish play"

References

{{reflist

English-language idioms
Etiquette
Euphemisms
Taboo