Will I ever own it?

I learned a new word yesterday:  demonym. It appeared in one of the word games I play every morning, and I admit, I had to look it up.

I figured it had something to do with words or names, from the suffix -onym, as in homonym. Once I read the definition, the prefix demo- made sense too – something to do with people or populations, as in demographic.

A demonym, then, is the name given to the people of a place. French is the demonym for people in France, and, as if often the case, is also the name of their language.

The people of Greece are Greek and speak Greek. People in Germany are German and speak German. People in the United States are American and speak English.

Well, it works most of the time.

In grade school they told us, “Use a new word ten times, and it’s yours.”  I am wondering what my chances are of slipping “demonym” into even one conversation, but you never know.