Eponym Explained

An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word eponym include eponymous and eponymic. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovations, biological nomenclature, astronomical objects, works of art and media, and tribal names. Various orthographic conventions are used for eponyms.

Usage of the word

The term eponym[1] [2] functions in multiple related ways, all based on an explicit relationship between two named things. Eponym may refer to a person or, less commonly[2], a place or thing for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Eponym may also refer to someone or something named after, or believed to be named after, a person or, less commonly, a place or thing. A person, place, or thing named after a particular person share an eponymous relationship. In this way, Elizabeth I of England is the eponym of the Elizabethan era, but the Elizabethan era can also be referred to as the eponym of Elizabeth I of England.

Adjectives derived from the word eponym include eponymous and eponymic. When Henry Ford is referred to as "the eponymous founder of the Ford Motor Company", his surname "Ford" and the name of the motor company have an eponymous relationship. The word "eponym" can also refer to the title character of a fictional work (such as Rocky Balboa of the Rocky film series), as well as to self-titled works named after their creators (such as the album The Doors by the band the Doors).

Walt Disney created the eponymous Walt Disney Company, with his name similarly extended to theme parks such as Walt Disney World.[3] [4] [5] [6] Medical eponymous terms are often called medical eponyms, although that usage is deprecable.

History

Periods have often been named after a ruler or other influential figure:

Trends

Other eponyms

Orthographic conventions

Capitalized versus lowercase

For examples, see the comparison table below.

Genitive versus attributive

National varieties of English

Comparison table of eponym orthographic styling

Prevalent dictionary styling today Stylings that defy prevalent dictionary styling Comments
Addison disease
  • Addison Disease
    *addison disease
 
Allemann syndrome
  • Allemann Syndrome
    *allemann syndrome
 
cesarean [only]
cesarean also cesarian [but no cap variant]
cesarean, "often capitalized" or caesarean also cesarian or caesarian
  More information on this word's orthographic variants is at Wiktionary: .
darwinian [only]
darwinism [only]
Darwinian [only]
Darwinism [only]
Darwinist [only]
   
diesel (n/adj/vi) [no cap variant]
and also
diesel-electric
diesel engine
dieseling
dieselize, dieselization
  • Diesel engine
    *Dieseling
    *Dieselize, Dieselization
 
draconian
draconian often Draconian
   
eustachian [only]
eustachian often Eustachian
eustachian tube [only]
eustachian tube often Eustachian tube
eustachian tube or Eustachian tube
  • Eustachian Tube
 
fallopian [only]
fallopian often Fallopian
fallopian tube [only]
fallopian tube often Fallopian tube
fallopian tube also Fallopian tube
  • Fallopian Tube
 
Marxism [only]
Marxist [only]
  • marxism
    *marxist
 
mendelian [only] or Mendelian [only]
mendelian inheritance [only] or Mendelian inheritance [only] 
 but
Mendel's laws
  • Mendelian Inheritance
 
Newtonian [only]
  • newtonian
 
parkinsonism [only]
parkinsonian [only]
parkinsonian tremor
Parkinson disease [only]
Parkinson's disease [only]
  • Parkinsonism
    *Parkinsonian
    *Parkinsonian tremor
    *Parkinsonian Tremor
    *Parkinson Disease
    *Parkinson's Disease
 
quixotic [only]
  • Quixotic
 
Roman numerals
roman numerals
  AMA Manual of Style lowercases the terms roman numerals and arabic numerals. MWCD enters the numeral sense under the headword Roman but with the note "not cap" on the numeral sense.

Lists of eponyms

By person's name

By category

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. (ancient Greek ἐπώνυμος (a.) given as a name, (b.) giving one's name to a thing or person, ἐπί upon + ὄνομα, Aeolic ὄνυμα name)
  2. Web site: eponym, n. : Oxford English Dictionary. 2019-10-26. OED Online. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191026214030/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/63655?redirectedFrom=eponym. 2019-10-26. 2019-10-27.
  3. Web site: eponym. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com LLC. 30 December 2014. dictionary_com_eponym. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041338/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eponym. live.
  4. Web site: eponym. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 30 December 2014. m-w_eponym. 21 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160421210422/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponym. live.
  5. Web site: eponymous. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com LLC. 30 December 2014. dictionary_com_eponymous. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052512/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eponymous?s=t. live.
  6. Web site: eponymous. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 30 December 2014. m-w_eponymous. 21 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160521185005/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponymous. live.
  7. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tmcases/bayer.htm Bayer Co. v. United Drug Co., 272 F. 505 (S.D.N.Y. 1921)
  8. King-Seeley Thermos Co. v. Aladdin Indus., Inc., 321 F.2d 577 (2d Cir. 1963); see also this PDF
  9. Book: Beolens . Bo . Watkins . Michael . Grayson . Michael . The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. 2014. Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1472905741.
  10. Hämäläinen . Matti . Catalogue of individuals commemorated in the scientific names of extant dragonflies, including lists of all available eponymous species-group and genus-group names . International Dragonfly Fund (IDF) - Report . 2015 . 80 . 1–168 . 1435-3393 . 18 September 2020 . 19 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210719092338/http://www.dragonflyfund.org/images/reports/IDF_Report_80_Hamalainen_2015_small.pdf . live .
  11. Web site: Astronomical Eponyms . Lauer . Tod . National Optical Astronomy Observatory . 2021-08-22 . 2021-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210822220041/https://www.noao.edu/noao/staff/lauer/eponyms.html . live .
  12. Book: Waddingham, Anne . New Hart's Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. 105 . OUP Oxford . 28 August 2014 . 978-0199570027 .
  13. Book: No Grammar Tears 1 . Marthus-Adden Zimboiant . 256–257 . 9781491800751 . 2013-08-05 . AuthorHouse .
  14. Book: University of Chicago . The Chicago Manual of Style . 14th . 1993 . University of Chicago Press . Chicago . 0-226-10389-7 . § 7.49, pp. 253–254 . The Chicago Manual of Style .
  15. Book: Grammar and Writing Skills for the Health Professional . Lorraine . Villemaire . Doreen . Oberg . Delmar Cengage Learning. 2nd Revised . 29 December 2005. 978-1401873745 . 167.
  16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emerging Infectious Diseases Style Guide. Preferred Usage
  17. Through the wall: extracellular vesicles in Gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria and fungi . Lisa Brown . Julie M. Wolf . Rafael Prados-Rosales . Arturo Casadevall . Nature Reviews Microbiology . 13 . 10 . 620–630 . 2015 . 10.1038/nrmicro3480 . 26324094 . 4860279.
  18. Science . Detecting Gram-negative bacteria . 12 June 2015 . 348. 6240. 1218. 10.1126/science.348.6240.1218-o . Kristen L. Mueller.
  19. Web site: Gram-positive . Dictionary.com . 2016-10-22 . 2016-10-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161020105533/http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gram-positive . live .
  20. Web site: Newtonian . Merriam-Wester . 2016-10-22 . 2016-10-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161023050723/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Newtonian . live .
  21. Web site: New·ton . The American Heritage Dictionary . 2016-10-22 . 2016-10-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161022220200/https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Newtonian&submit.x=19&submit.y=19 . live .
  22. , chapter 16: Eponyms.
  23. [Medical Subject Headings|Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)]