Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

what's in a name

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.05 in modern English

Syllables
what's in a -name
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Used to argue that something's name is arbitrary and does not give any information as to its qualities; the names of things do not affect what they really are.

Etymology

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1597 in "Romeo and Juliet," act 2, scene 2: : What's in a name? That which we call a rose, : By any other name would smell as sweet.

Questions

What does what's in a name mean?
Used to argue that something's name is arbitrary and does not give any information as to its qualities; the names of things do not affect what they really are.
Where does what's in a name come from?
Coined by William Shakespeare in 1597 in "Romeo and Juliet," act 2, scene 2: : What's in a name? That which we call a rose, : By any other name would smell as sweet.

How to pronounce what's in a name

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “what's in a name”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “what's in a name” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.