eponym

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Or, in other words, the eponym is really only that name, transformed into a traditional person by a bold and vivid poetical figure of speech, which, if taken for what it is, makes the beginnings of political history wonderfully plain and easy to grasp and classify 9.

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A word or name derived from the name of a person. The words atlas, bowdlerize, and Turing machine are eponyms.
  2. noun A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something.

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Examples (44)

  • Sideburns , meaning "a style of whiskers grown to cover all or part of the sides of a man's face," is indeed an eponym, a word formed from someone's proper name, in this case that of U.S. Army general Ambrose Burnside (1824 -1881). —  The Word Detective
  • Ken MacDonald, one eponym of Dublin estate agents Hooke and MacDonald, is Irish real estate's Comical Ali. —  Irish Blogs
  • The eponym of this law is John O'Sullivan, former aide to Lady Margaret Thatcher and former editor of —  The American Spectator
  • In 2000, the eponym of photocopying was bloated, slow and on the verge of bankruptcy because of mounting losses and ballooning debt. —  Market News
  • Yonkers Joe (directed by Robert Celestino) breaks about even with its eponym. —  Dallas Observer | Complete Issue
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French éponyme, from Greek epōnumos, named after : epi-, epi- + onoma, onuma, name; see nŏ̄-men- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also written eponyme; from Greek ἐπώνυμος, given as a name, surnamed, named after a person or thing, giving one's name to (as a noun, in plural, ἐπώνυμοι, sc. ἥρωες, eponymous heroes, legendary or real founders of tribes or cities, as those after whom the Attic phylæ had their names), from ἐπί, upon, to, + ὅνυμα, Æolic for ὅνομα = Latin nomen = English name: see onym.
 

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/ˈɛpənɪm/
by American Heritage
by Eric Leebow

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