From Latin 'innominatus' (unnamed) — used primarily in anatomy for structures that were never given proper names.
Not named; having no name; anonymous. Used especially in anatomy for structures that were not given specific names by early anatomists.
From Late Latin 'innōminātus' (unnamed, nameless), from 'in-' (not, un-) + 'nōminātus' (named, called), past participle of 'nōmināre' (to name, to call by name), from 'nōmen' (name), from PIE *h₁nómn̥ (name). The word means literally 'not named' — a placeholder designation for something that lacks or has been denied a proper name. It is used primarily in anatomy, where several structures were left 'innominate' by early anatomists: the 'innominate bone' (os innominatum, the hip bone, so called because Galen refused to name it), the 'innominate artery' (arteria innominata, the brachiocephalic trunk), and the 'innominate vein.' The PIE root *h₁nómn̥ is
The 'innominate bone' of the pelvis was so called because early anatomists could not agree on a name for it. The paradox of a bone named 'unnamed' was eventually resolved by modern anatomy, which now calls it the 'hip bone' or 'os coxae' — but 'innominate' stuck in medical tradition for centuries.
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