First Known Use: 1846
Dictionary
eponym
noun ep·onym \ˈe-pə-ˌnim\
Definition of EPONYM
1
: one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named
2
: a name (as of a drug or a disease) based on or derived from an eponym
— ep·onym·ic \ˌe-pə-ˈni-mik\ adjective
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Examples of EPONYM
- Joseph Banks was surely the eponym of eponyms. From Alaska to Indonesia, from Tierra del Fuego to Tasmania, there are capes, islands, straits, mountains, bays, points, channels, peninsulas, counties and towns named after him. —Pat Rogers, Times Literary Supplement, 3–9 June 1988
- Toadfishes burp the songs of their eponyms; one sort of toadfish is called the singing midshipman. —John Hersey, Harper's, May 1987
- Almost from the onset of television, congressmen have realized the promotional potential of the carefully scripted hearing: the McCarthy and Kefauver hearings of the 1950s, which were among the first “televison events,” made their eponyms famous. —Gregg Easterbrook, Atlantic, Dec. 1984
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Origin of EPONYM
Greek epōnymos, from epōnymos eponymous, from epi- + onyma name — more at name
Medical Dictionary
eponym
noun ep·onym \ˈep-ə-ˌnim\
Medical Definition of EPONYM
1
: the person for whom something (as a disease) is or is believed to be named
2
: a name (as of a drug or a disease) based on or derived from the name of a person
Learn More About EPONYM
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