Foreword
Because of the tentative and necessarily incomplete nature of the data surrounding any discussion of the proper names and common non-English nouns in the Book of Mormon, this study must be viewed as only a beginning to a long and hopefully fruitful dialogue among serious scholars. The creation and maintaining of this onomasticon are of necessity quite technical and complicated. The editors welcome irenical suggestions. This material is not presented as an apologetic work, neither is it polemical. Any use to the contrary must be viewed with extreme caution.
For a discussion of why a study of the proper names of the Book of Mormon merits any consideration, please see the preface, “Relevancy and Methodology for a Study of the Proper Names of the Book of Mormon.”
A separate list of abbreviations, variants, and a bibliography have been supplied, along with a study of specific etymological considerations relating to the Book of Mormon onomasticon.
The entries are arranged in alphabetical order with each entry beginning a new page. The data for each entry is arranged according to the following schema:
AARON The name or word appears at the top left of the page in capital, bolded letters:
[Attestations] Attestations of the name or word are listed in the order of their appearance in the Book of Mormon and assigned to one of three basic groupings: Lehite, Jaredite and biblical. Mulekite is not normally differentiated from Lehite. Effort has been made to list every occurrence.
Etymology. Unless otherwise noted, the discussion of the name begins with a brief summary of the more likely etymological probabilities. This is followed by a synopsis of all proffered etymologies, listed in no strict order, though in general the more recent suggestions appear first. If the Book of Mormon name is solely a translation instead of a transliteration, speculative reconstructions of a Vorlage may be offered if the context provides any clues.
Variants After the etymological discussion, the different spellings of the name/word, if such exist are listed. By clicking on the variant, a page appears that lists all the variants for that name/word and where and when they occur.
Deseret Alphabet supplies the Deseret Alphabet spelling of the name, with variants if there are any, followed by an IPA transcription.
Notes, if there are any.
Bibliography, if there is one.
