PATRONYMIC (patris, a father, and evoca, a name) signifies properly a name taken from one's father, and is applied by grammarians to such names of men or women as are derived from those of parents or ancestors. Patronymics are derived from the father, as Pelides, that is, Achilles, the son of Peleus; or from the mother, as Phylarides, that is, Chiron, the son of Philyra; or from the grandfather on the father's side, as Acaicides, or Achilles, the grandson of Aecus; or from the grandfather by the mother's side, as Atlantiades, Mercury, the grandson of Atlas; or, lastly, from the kings and founders of nations, as Romulidae, the Romans, so called from their founder King Romulus. The terminations of Greek and Latin patronymics are chiefly four, viz., des, of which we have already given examples; as, as Thaumantias, that is, Iris, the daughter of Thaumas; is, as Atlantis, that is, Electra, the daughter of Atlas; and ne, as Nerine, the daughter of Nereus. Of these terminations, des is masculine, and as, is, and ne are feminine; des and ne are of the first declension, as and is of the third. In Greek, and particularly in Sanscrit, patronymics are very numerous. There are very few patronymics in English, and those are chiefly of Celtic origin, as names formed by the addition of Mac or of O'. The termination son (as John-son) is also a frequent mode of forming patronymics in English names. English patronymics are, however, already fixed, and are no longer in process of formation.