Terms

• boycott
• eponym 
• etymology 
• grapheme 
• onomastics
• place names

Resources

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English Language is a fairly recent text that focuses on the history of English, the English vocabulary, grammar, spoken and written English, and usage of English. It gives a full range of information on all topics. It also provides colorful diagrams, maps, and pictures to explain certain concepts. There are also aspects of grammar covered in this book.

Dictionary of Historical Allusions & Eponyms is a comprehensive dictionary of eponyms that gives the historical overview of the word and other words associated with the eponym. It also gives dates and reference sources to other works that the words appear in. This resource is very similar to the OED with the exception of this dictionary being exclusive to only eponyms.

Eponyms Dictionaries Index is a compilation of 33,000 eponyms. It is a guide to a huge literature of dictionaries and word books with information on eponyms. It includes entries of 13,000 people and 20,000 things. This source provides concise information, and brief biographical facts, and cites hundreds of different sources for further biographical information.
 
 

Related links

http://www.member.aol.com/wrdsyle/eponyms1.htm

http://www.slate.com/GoodWord/97-01-01/GoodWord.asp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Eponyms

by Robin Bristow
student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
 

There is more to a person's name than first glance, especially if that person's name is an  eponym. Many people see the word eponym and think that it is some complicated linguistic term; its' simply something that is named after a person. An eponym can refer to a place, object, disease, physical principle, or the usually mythical ancestor or object that a social group or tribe seems to originate its' name from. For example, James Monroe is the eponym of the city Monrovia, Liberia, and Sylvester Graham is the eponym for graham crackers. The Britannica Online Encyclopedia states that the derivative adjective of eponym is eponymous. In literary works such as Charles Dickens's David Copperfield, John Fowles's Daniel Martin, and Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey the characters are considered eponymous heroes because their names are the the titles of the works ("Eponym" 1). 

Eponyms can be included in the study of onomastics. It is the science which deals with the study of names. Some consider eponyms to be a subdivision of place names which is the most established domain of onomastics. Place names are those names people give to countries, districts, topographical features, settlements, and streets. The formula used in the formation of most eponyms is dropping the first name and using the surname as the base of the word. Some forms of words require the addition of the inflections or the omission of letter. For example, with Joseph Guillotin, the Joseph is dropped while an "e" is added to the last name to form guillotine. Some of the most unusual graphemes of words come from the construction of eponyms.
 

When did eponyms begin to appear?

What kinds of things become eponyms?

Why are eponyms used?

" Josie and Roger are going out?" 
"No, they just have platonic relationship." 
"He seems like a Casanova to me. Did you know he bought a bottle of Dom Perignon for their dinner."
"He told me that he got her a red cardigan sweater for Valentine's Day."
"Wow! He must have alot of money!"

Even a simple conversation like the one above can bring out a host of eponyms. Most people would be surprised with the number of eponyms used in a single day. Everyday words such as boycott after Captain Boycott, nicotine from Jean Nicot, diesel from Rudolf Diesel, fallopian tubes after Gabriello Fallopio, silhouette from Etienne de Silhouette, and platonic from Plato are included in most eponym dictionaries.

The increasing cultural and social development of  speakers of English has brought an increasing need for new words to express our thought and tastes (Ehrlich 1). Eponyms help us to expand our vocabulary everyday.

Many scientific and medical terms have origins that contain up to fifteen letters and are very difficult to pronounce. Eponyms make the science of onomastics a lot easier by simply using an individuals name. Simply put, eponyms are used to make our lives easy and prevent us from looking strange when trying to pronounce words like "forum romanum." 

William Jeffcoate, a contributing author in Lancet, reports that eponyms honor the discoverer or describe and provide an aide memoir for students anxious to develop their knowledge of history (8). Most eponyms carry a story that explains where the word actually comes from. For instance, a very inquisitive student might read a text for political science and come across the word gerrymander.  That student might find that word rather odd which could lead that student into research about the political party and election technique that Elbridge Gerry created in 1812.  Support of this idea also comes from research experts, Girish Govindarajan and Rao Shylaja. In the Journal of the Instructional Psychology they also contend that eponyms enlighten the motivated as well as the uninterested students to embark upon a diligent and productive endeavor in education, and relate the knowledge to present day life and society (340). Eponyms are our everyday connection to the history of people and their contributions to learning, science, technology, business, and entertainment. Behind every eponym is an interesting story to be told.
 

What are some of the most interesting eponyms known?

Within the realm of discovery and invention there are a host of stories behind some of the most simple things. The fallopian tubes, which carry the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus, were discovered by and named after the Italian anatomist, Gabriel Fallopius. He was a professor of surgery and anatomy at Pisa and then at Padua. He performed studies of the cranial nerves, genital organs, and inner ear. The words: palate, placenta, cochlea, and vagina were first proposed by him.

As mention earlier many places were derived from the names of  Greek heroes and warriors. The word arachnid has its history from ancient Greek mythology too. According to the Latin poet Ovid, Arachene was a Greek peasant girl who was very good at weaving and decided to compete with Athena. Athena produced a cloth depicting Olympian warriors in glory and Arachne wove a tableau of their trysts and deceits. Outraged, Athena destroyed Arachene's work and Arachene then hung herself. Moved to pity, Athena turned her into a spider, skilled at spinning gossamer just as the girl had been. The word Arachnida is known as the class of arthropods which includes spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks.

The word boycott is defined as the refusal to transact business with personal and political antagonist. It arose in Ireland in the 1880s when crop failures and harsh treatment by landlords was agitating the already difficult time for tenant farmers, driving them into poverty. Many were scarred when new tenants took over their farms; the Irish nationalist leader Charles Parnell told his supporters to isolate newcomers completely. Farmers soon began to taunt all their enemies, including a land agent called Charles Boycott, who refused to liberalize his tenants rent payment schedules. In retaliation they refused to gather his crops, intimidated his servants, took his mail, tore down his fences, and made threats on his life. The term boycott was quickly adopted in the British Isles and all throughout Europe to describe intimidating acts. Even though Boycott's name exists as a word for these actions, he was the passive object of the practice. Ironically, he never instigated the original boycott, he was actually its victim.

On the lighter side of eponyms is the origin of the word sandwich. It is named for John Mantagu, the fourth earl of Sandwich (1718-92). He did not invent the snack which holds his name. It is said that he was a notorious lecher and gambler. During a game of cards, rather than leave the table to eat he ordered a servant to bring him a serving of roast beef between to slices of bread and the term sandwich was introduced (Beeching 29).
 

Are there any new eponyms being introduced into the English language?

1. Bloody Mary                                    A. James Parkinson, English surgeon
2. boycott                                             B. Plato (originally Aristocles), a pupil of Socrates 
3. casanova                                          C. Edward Stanley 12th earl of Derby, Founded horse race
4. derby                                                D. Mary I, Queen of England (1553-58)
5. Braille                                               E. Louis Braille, French teacher
6. guillotine                                            F. Joseph Guillotin, French physician
7. platonic                                             G. Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland
8. Parkinson's Disease                           H. Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, an Italian adventurer
                                                              I. Nicholas Chauvin, 19th century character devoted to
                                                                 Napoleon
 
 

Works Cited

Beeching, Cyril L. A dictionary of eponyms. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. 

Ehrlich, Eugene. What's in a Name. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999.

"Eponym" Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 

     <http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu+137862&sctn=1>[12 September 20001].

Govindarajan, Girish, and Rao S. Shylaya. " Scientific history and the educational significance of 

     eponyms in science and medical instruction." Journal of Instructional Psychology. 20 

     (Dec.1993): 340.

Ruffner, James A. Eponyms Dictionaries Index. New York: Gale Research Company, 1977.

Thompkins, Gwen. "Interview: Richard Lederer discusses some eponyms." Weekly Edition: The 

     Best of NPR News. Feb. 10 2001.

William, Jeffocoate. " Names to remember." Lancet 356 (July 2001): 8.