eponym

English

WOTD – 18 November 2006

Alternative forms

• eponyme

Etymology

From Latin eponymus, from Ancient Greek ἐπώνῠμος (epṓnŭmos), from ἐπί (epí, “upon, epi-”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”) + -ος (-os, suffix forming adjectives and nouns). Equivalent to epi- + -nym.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛpənɪm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

Examples
Alzheimer's disease from Alois Alzheimer boycott from Charles Boycott Columbia from Christopher Columbus einsteinium from Albert Einstein Euclidean geometry from Euclid Fermi paradox from Enrico Fermi Hansard from Thomas Curson Hansard Newtonian mechanics from Isaac Newton sandwich from Earl of Sandwich Victorian from Victoria

eponym (plural eponyms)

2. A person who gave or supposedly gave their name to a people, place, institution, etc.

   Synonym: namesake

   The Greeks and Romans tended to credit nearly every location and ethnicity to a legendary eponym, Hellas to Hellen, Rome to Romulus, Egypt to Aegyptus, etc.

   Similar to the Greek eponymous archons and Roman consuls, the names of the annually appointed Assyrian limus were used for their years in office and they are accordingly also known as eponyms.

4. Something that is named after a person.

   Synonym: namesake

5. (sometimes proscribed) A name taken from a person, a namesake toponym, term, etc.

   Alexandria is an eponym, taken from its founder Alexander the Great.

   • 2004, Bill Sherk, 500 Years of New Words, →ISBN:

     [Mesmer] lives on today as the root of the eponym mesmerize.

   • 2015, Robert B. Taylor, What Every Medical Writer Needs to Know, →ISBN:

     For their dubious contribution to literature, Doctor Bowdler and Henrietta were recognized with the eponym bowdlerize[.]

   • 2023 June 19, Rachel E. Gross, “Should Medicine Still Bother With Eponyms?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     An eponym was once considered medicine’s highest honor. Like monuments to great generals, they paid tribute to medicine’s most brilliant minds, ensuring their names would live on in perpetuity.

6. (loosely, sometimes proscribed) A name or term derived from any proper noun, inclusive of places, brands, etc.

   "Tangerine" is an eponym in reference to Tangier... The unflattering eponym "shanghai" derived from the behavior of American shippers, not the Chinese themselves...

7. (archaic) Synonym of epitome, a person taken as a symbol or quintessential representative of some trait, school, etc.

   Rockefeller became the very eponym of wealth.

8. (archaic) Synonym of epithet, a distinguishing title.

   It was only posthumously that Julian was distinguished with the eponym "Apostate".

Coordinate terms

• antonomasia (using an eponym as an example of some quality)

Derived terms

• eponymic
• eponymical
• eponymically
• eponymism
• eponymist
• eponymize
• eponymy
• proprietary eponym

Related terms

• aneponymous
• eponymous

Translations

person's name that has given rise to the name of something

• Belarusian: эпані́м m (epaním)
• Bengali: ব্যক্তির নামে নামাঙ্কিত (bêktir name namaṅkito)
• Bulgarian: епоним m (eponim)
• Catalan: epònim (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 名祖 (zh) (míngzǔ)

• Czech: eponym (cs) m
• Dutch: eponiem (nl) n, naamgever (nl) m
• Finnish: eponyymi
• French: éponyme (fr) m
• German: Namensgeber (de) m, Eponym (de) n
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐπωνυμία (epōnumía)

• Hungarian: névadó (hu)
• Irish: eapainm m
• Italian: eponimo (it) m
• Japanese: 名祖 (なおや, naoya), エポニム (ja) (eponimu)
• Korean: 명조 (ko) (myeongjo)
• Latin: eponymus m
• Malay: eponim
• Polish: eponim (pl) m
• Portuguese: epónimo m (Portugal), epônimo (pt) m (Brazil)
• Russian: эпо́ним (ru) m (epónim), эпони́м (ru) m (eponím)
• Slovak: eponym m
• Spanish: epónimo (es) m
• Swedish: eponym (sv) c
• Telugu: నామకారకుడు (nāmakārakuḍu)
• Turkish: (psychology) eponim, ad veren
• Ukrainian: епо́нім m (epónim)

word formed from a person’s name

• Belarusian: эпані́м m (epaním)
• Bulgarian: епоним m (eponim)
• Czech: eponymum n
• Dutch: eponiem (nl) n
• French: éponyme (fr) m
• German: Eponym (de) n
• Hungarian: eponima
• Italian: eponimo (it) m
• Polish: eponim (pl) m
• Portuguese: epónimo m (Portugal), epônimo (pt) m (Brazil)
• Russian: эпо́ним (ru) m (epónim), эпони́м (ru) m (eponím)
• Slovak: eponymum n
• Spanish: epónimo (es) m
• Swedish: eponym (sv) c
• Ukrainian: епо́нім m (epónim)

See also

• Category:English eponyms

References

• “eponym”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “eponym, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛponɪm]

Noun

eponym m inan

1. eponym

Declension

Declension of eponym (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	eponym	eponymy
genitive	eponymu	eponymů
dative	eponymu	eponymům
accusative	eponym	eponymy
vocative	eponyme	eponymy
locative	eponymu	eponymech
instrumental	eponymem	eponymy

Further reading

• “eponym”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “eponym”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “eponym”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
• “eponym”, in Nový encyklopedický slovník češtiny online (in Czech), 2012–2020

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈepɔnim]

Noun

eponym m pers

1. eponymous archon

   Synonym: eponymos

2. eponym (a person who gave their name to something)

Declension

Declension of eponym
(pattern chlap)

	singular	plural
nominative	eponym	eponymovia
genitive	eponyma	eponymov
dative	eponymovi	eponymom
accusative	eponyma	eponymov
locative	eponymovi	eponymoch
instrumental	eponymom	eponymami

Further reading

• “eponym”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Swedish

Noun

eponym c

1. eponym

Declension

Declension of eponym

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	eponym	eponyms
	definite	eponymen	eponymens
plural	indefinite	eponymer	eponymers
	definite	eponymerna	eponymernas