What's an eponym

A. Xerox is, for starters. An eponym is someone or something whose name is or is thought to be the source of something's name. So Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, is the eponym of the city he gave his name to. Conversely, Rome is also the eponym of Romulus.

�

Eponyms crop up all over the place, especially in science. Theories, laws, equations, proofs, diseases and elements often have their eponyms in the people that first discovered or proved them. The same is true of the Latin names of plants and animals. One example is nicotiana, the Latin name for tobacco, which was named after Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal, who introduced it to France in around 1560.

�

Q. What about proprietary eponyms

A. Proprietary eponyms are a different matter altogether. They are words which, while originally brand names, have come to be used to refer to the whole class of object and not just a specific make. So, the above example xerox, which was originally a brand of photocopier, can be used as a noun, meaning 'a photocopy' as well the verb to xerox, meaning 'to photocopy'.

�

Q. Any more examples

A. Here are a few:

�

Alka Seltzer

Aspirin

AstroTurf

Band Aid

Beer Nuts

Benzedrine

Brassiere

Breathalyzer

Brillo Pad

Cellophane

Celluloid

Coke

Cola

Corselet

Dumpster

Escalator

Frisbee

Granola

Gunk

Heroin

Hoover

Hula-Hoop

Jacuzzi

Jeep

Jello

Jockey Shorts

Kerosene

Kitty Litter

Kleenex

Laundromat

Levis

Linoleum

Magic Marker

Mimeograph

Novocain

Parcheesi

Ping Pong

Play-Doh

Pogo Stick

Polaroid

Popsicle

Post-It Note

Q-Tip

Rollerblade

Roneo

Scotch Tape

Scrabble

Sellotape

Shredded Wheat

Spam

Styrofoam

Super Glue

Tabloid

Teflon

Teleprompter

Teletype

Thermos

TV Dinner

UNIX

Valium

Vaseline

Velcro

Walkman

Yo-yo

Zipper

�

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

�

By Simon Smith