What does pseudonym mean?
Word: Pseudonym
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Pseudonym means a made-up name that someone, especially a writer, uses instead of their real name.
Synonyms: pen name, nom de plume
Word origin: Came into English through French from Greek, formed from pseudes and onoma.
How do you spell pseudonym?
Syllables: pseu - do - nym
Tricky part: The word opens with a p that is never heard, so pupils who spell by ear start straight at the s.
Watch out for: sudonym, seudonym
Memory tip: Picture a quiet P at the head of the queue with a finger on its lips: you never hear it, but it still has to go on the page.
Pseudonym in a sentence
Example 1: The young poet published her first collection under a pseudonym because she was shy.
Example 2: Nobody at school guessed that our librarian wrote the funny column in the newsletter under a pseudonym.
Example 3: Rohan chose a pseudonym for the short-story contest so that the judges would not recognise him.
Fun Fact
Munshi Premchand, one of the best-loved writers in Hindi and Urdu, was born Dhanpat Rai. Premchand was a pseudonym, and it is the name readers still know him by.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
pseudon_m
a) i
b) y
c) u
d) e
Show answer
b) y. Greek words like this one often keep a y where English ears hear a short i.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
123456789 nymdsepuo
a) 856749123
b) 756849123
c) 759846123
d) 716849523
Show answer
b) 756849123. Read in that order, the letters spell the name a writer may hide behind.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. acronym 2. pseudonym 3. antonym a. a word that says the opposite of another b. a word made from the opening letters of other words c. the name on a book when the real author stays hidden
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. NASA is an acronym, hot is an antonym of cold, and the hidden author leaves the other meaning for the pseudonym.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Pseudonym is built on the Greek word pseudes. What did pseudes mean?
a) false
b) foreign
c) ancient
d) noble
Show answer
a) false. A pseudonym is literally a false name, and the same root gives us pseudoscience.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A novelist signs all her books with a pseudonym. Why might she do this?
a) to make the printing of her books cheaper
b) to meet a rule set by every public library
c) to keep her private life apart from her work
d) to get her books translated much faster
Show answer
c) to keep her private life apart from her work
2. Which pair shows a pseudonym and the person behind it?
a) Lewis Carroll and Charles Dodgson
b) Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
c) Mumbai and Bombay
d) Sherlock Holmes and John Watson
Show answer
a) Lewis Carroll and Charles Dodgson
