Name for words like whatchamacallit, doohickey, thingamabob












12















Is there a name for words like whatchamacallit, doohickey, thingamabob, doodad, thingamajig, whatsit, etc.?



Somehow it seems like there should be a word to describe the general term for a word that you use for referring to something when you cannot remember what it is called.



(Computing names like foo, bar, baz are examples of metasyntactic variables but those are a slightly different category.)






single-word-requests







share|improve this question


















  • 1





    It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

    – user662852
    9 hours ago






  • 2





    According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago











  • Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    @ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

    – rici
    3 hours ago
















12















Is there a name for words like whatchamacallit, doohickey, thingamabob, doodad, thingamajig, whatsit, etc.?



Somehow it seems like there should be a word to describe the general term for a word that you use for referring to something when you cannot remember what it is called.



(Computing names like foo, bar, baz are examples of metasyntactic variables but those are a slightly different category.)






single-word-requests







share|improve this question


















  • 1





    It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

    – user662852
    9 hours ago






  • 2





    According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago











  • Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    @ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

    – rici
    3 hours ago














12












12








12


1






Is there a name for words like whatchamacallit, doohickey, thingamabob, doodad, thingamajig, whatsit, etc.?



Somehow it seems like there should be a word to describe the general term for a word that you use for referring to something when you cannot remember what it is called.



(Computing names like foo, bar, baz are examples of metasyntactic variables but those are a slightly different category.)






single-word-requests







share|improve this question














Is there a name for words like whatchamacallit, doohickey, thingamabob, doodad, thingamajig, whatsit, etc.?



Somehow it seems like there should be a word to describe the general term for a word that you use for referring to something when you cannot remember what it is called.



(Computing names like foo, bar, baz are examples of metasyntactic variables but those are a slightly different category.)






single-word-requests




single-word-requests






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 10 hours ago









Jason SJason S

4782518




4782518








  • 1





    It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

    – user662852
    9 hours ago






  • 2





    According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago











  • Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    @ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

    – rici
    3 hours ago














  • 1





    It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

    – user662852
    9 hours ago






  • 2





    According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago











  • Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

    – ale10ander
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    @ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

    – rici
    3 hours ago








1




1





It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

– user662852
9 hours ago





It's idiosyncratic but related: atlasobscura.com/articles/…

– user662852
9 hours ago




2




2





According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

– ale10ander
8 hours ago





According to John Lawler, they're called Nonce Forms

– ale10ander
8 hours ago













Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

– ale10ander
8 hours ago





Possible duplicate of Is there a word which means whatever you want it to mean? Or has no meaning?

– ale10ander
8 hours ago




2




2





Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

– Hugo
8 hours ago





Possible duplicate of Term for using "thingy-esque" phrases rather than a common word

– Hugo
8 hours ago




1




1





@ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

– rici
3 hours ago





@ale10ander: with all due respect for John Lawler, a nonce word is a newly-coined word which is used once for a specific meaing, whereas a placeholder like "whatchamacallit" is a widely-agreed-upon form which can be used as a substitute for arbitrary terms.

– rici
3 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















16














These are placeholders:




A placeholder is a word (such as whatchamacallit) used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something. Also known as a kadigan, tongue-tipper, and dummy noun.
ThoughtCo.







share|improve this answer
























  • that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

    – Jason S
    9 hours ago











  • See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    @JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

    – Kamil Drakari
    8 hours ago













  • I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

    – barbecue
    4 hours ago





















0














Although not a single word, you can call them "Vague Expressions"




. . .

We can use vague expressions when we are not sure of the name of something.

. . .
› Spoken English

In very informal speaking, we sometimes say /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪt/, /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪm/, /ˈθɪŋəmi/, /ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪg/... [cambridge.org/grammar]




The grammar article doesn't list all the question examples but I think they can be safely put in the same category. I am unaware of there being a single word with the precise meaning of "vague expression".



If you wanted to use a synecdoche figure of speech you could call them, say, "something-or-others" as in "Their explanation used too many something-or-others instead of the correct words for things".






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

    – Mitch
    6 hours ago











Your Answer








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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









16














These are placeholders:




A placeholder is a word (such as whatchamacallit) used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something. Also known as a kadigan, tongue-tipper, and dummy noun.
ThoughtCo.







share|improve this answer
























  • that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

    – Jason S
    9 hours ago











  • See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    @JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

    – Kamil Drakari
    8 hours ago













  • I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

    – barbecue
    4 hours ago


















16














These are placeholders:




A placeholder is a word (such as whatchamacallit) used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something. Also known as a kadigan, tongue-tipper, and dummy noun.
ThoughtCo.







share|improve this answer
























  • that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

    – Jason S
    9 hours ago











  • See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    @JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

    – Kamil Drakari
    8 hours ago













  • I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

    – barbecue
    4 hours ago
















16












16








16







These are placeholders:




A placeholder is a word (such as whatchamacallit) used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something. Also known as a kadigan, tongue-tipper, and dummy noun.
ThoughtCo.







share|improve this answer













These are placeholders:




A placeholder is a word (such as whatchamacallit) used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something. Also known as a kadigan, tongue-tipper, and dummy noun.
ThoughtCo.








share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 10 hours ago









LaurelLaurel

32.4k662115




32.4k662115













  • that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

    – Jason S
    9 hours ago











  • See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    @JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

    – Kamil Drakari
    8 hours ago













  • I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

    – barbecue
    4 hours ago





















  • that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

    – Jason S
    9 hours ago











  • See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

    – Hugo
    8 hours ago






  • 2





    @JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

    – Kamil Drakari
    8 hours ago













  • I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

    – barbecue
    4 hours ago



















that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

– Jason S
9 hours ago





that would be a reasonable answer... except that if I look up placeholder in a dictionary I get no reference to whatchamacallit, etc. (see dictionary.com/browse/placeholder and dictionary.com/browse/placeholder)

– Jason S
9 hours ago













See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

– Hugo
8 hours ago





See for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placeholder_name

– Hugo
8 hours ago




2




2





@JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

– Kamil Drakari
8 hours ago







@JasonS You seem to have given the same link twice. Also, dictionary.com doesn't typically give examples in that sense; a Ford Fiesta is a car even though it isn't mentioned at dictionary.com/browse/car

– Kamil Drakari
8 hours ago















I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

– barbecue
4 hours ago







I was surprised by @JasonS's comment, but I checked a few dictionaries and found that a surprising number of them refer to placeholder as being either mathematical or political terminology. As a long-time native speaker, I am 100% sure this word is much more widely used than in just those specific fields. It's very easy to find countless examples in popular culture, literature, science, sports, etc.

– barbecue
4 hours ago















0














Although not a single word, you can call them "Vague Expressions"




. . .

We can use vague expressions when we are not sure of the name of something.

. . .
› Spoken English

In very informal speaking, we sometimes say /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪt/, /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪm/, /ˈθɪŋəmi/, /ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪg/... [cambridge.org/grammar]




The grammar article doesn't list all the question examples but I think they can be safely put in the same category. I am unaware of there being a single word with the precise meaning of "vague expression".



If you wanted to use a synecdoche figure of speech you could call them, say, "something-or-others" as in "Their explanation used too many something-or-others instead of the correct words for things".






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

    – Mitch
    6 hours ago
















0














Although not a single word, you can call them "Vague Expressions"




. . .

We can use vague expressions when we are not sure of the name of something.

. . .
› Spoken English

In very informal speaking, we sometimes say /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪt/, /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪm/, /ˈθɪŋəmi/, /ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪg/... [cambridge.org/grammar]




The grammar article doesn't list all the question examples but I think they can be safely put in the same category. I am unaware of there being a single word with the precise meaning of "vague expression".



If you wanted to use a synecdoche figure of speech you could call them, say, "something-or-others" as in "Their explanation used too many something-or-others instead of the correct words for things".






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

    – Mitch
    6 hours ago














0












0








0







Although not a single word, you can call them "Vague Expressions"




. . .

We can use vague expressions when we are not sure of the name of something.

. . .
› Spoken English

In very informal speaking, we sometimes say /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪt/, /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪm/, /ˈθɪŋəmi/, /ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪg/... [cambridge.org/grammar]




The grammar article doesn't list all the question examples but I think they can be safely put in the same category. I am unaware of there being a single word with the precise meaning of "vague expression".



If you wanted to use a synecdoche figure of speech you could call them, say, "something-or-others" as in "Their explanation used too many something-or-others instead of the correct words for things".






share|improve this answer















Although not a single word, you can call them "Vague Expressions"




. . .

We can use vague expressions when we are not sure of the name of something.

. . .
› Spoken English

In very informal speaking, we sometimes say /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪt/, /ˈwɒtʃjəməkɔ:lɪm/, /ˈθɪŋəmi/, /ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪg/... [cambridge.org/grammar]




The grammar article doesn't list all the question examples but I think they can be safely put in the same category. I am unaware of there being a single word with the precise meaning of "vague expression".



If you wanted to use a synecdoche figure of speech you could call them, say, "something-or-others" as in "Their explanation used too many something-or-others instead of the correct words for things".







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 6 hours ago

























answered 6 hours ago









traktor53traktor53

60338




60338








  • 1





    If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

    – Mitch
    6 hours ago














  • 1





    If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

    – Mitch
    6 hours ago








1




1





If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

– Mitch
6 hours ago





If 'it' is the concept, then it -is- a vague expression, but that's not what you -call- it. And we're looking for what you call it.

– Mitch
6 hours ago


















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