Wiktionary

eponym

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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WOTD – 18 November 2006

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Examples

eponym (plural eponyms)

  1. A person who gave or supposedly gave their name to a people, place, institution, etc.
    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.
  2. A noun for something named after a person.
  3. (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.
  4. (archaic) Synonym of epithet, a distinguishing title.
    It was only posthumously that Julian was distinguished with the eponym "Apostate".
  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...

Hyponyms

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Coordinate terms

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

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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Czech

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Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Pronunciation

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Noun

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eponym m inan

  1. eponym

Declension

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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

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  • “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)

Slovak

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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eponym m pers

  1. eponymous archon
    Synonym: eponymos
  2. eponym (a person who gave their name to something)

Declension

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Declension of eponym (pattern chlap)
singularplural
nominativeeponymeponymovia
genitiveeponymaeponymov
dativeeponymovieponymom
accusativeeponymaeponymov
locativeeponymovieponymoch
instrumentaleponymomeponymami

Further reading

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  • “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, 2003–2024

Swedish

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Noun

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eponym c

  1. eponym

Declension

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