The making of an eponym                                                     
How it’s derived from the name of an achiever

To be an eponym in your life you will have to be an achiever or someone outstanding in some field. It could be your favourite thing and not necessarily something that is very difficult to achieve. According to the dictionary, eponym, means a person, real or imaginary from whom something, as a tribe, nation, or place, takes or is said to take its name, for example, Brut, the supposed grandson of Aeneas, is the eponym of the Britons. In our lives, eponyms come our way from various fields. It can be from history, literature or even politics. An eponym is derived from the name of an authentic, imaginary or spurious character or person. Many eponyms originate from the person’s surname. Take for example, the word ‘boycott’; it originates from the Irish landlord Captain Charles Boycott, the word ‘dahlia’ comes from the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

Science and technology and medicine have a large share of eponyms, words originating from the discoverer’s name. Names of a number of diseases are also in the form of eponyms for example Alzheimer’s disease is named after Alois Alzheimer.

In politics, different cultures and time periods have often been named after the person who ruled during the period. One of the first recorded cases of eponymy can be traced to the second millennium BC, when the Assyrians named each year after high ranking officials. This practice was followed in ancient Greece, Rome and in UK as well. Some form of naming calendars or months was followed. In politics, government administration or political trends tend to become eponymous with the leaders. Margaret Thatcher, one of Britain’s tremendously dynamic leaders, had become eponymous with ‘Thatcherism’. In the past, monarchs have become eponymous throughout the world and some exceedingly popular ones are Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian. Places or towns are also used to be given an eponymous name after some important figure. These days we have the tradition of renaming cities and streets to honour valiant soldiers or remember great scholars or leaders. Historically, countries have been named after their founder or discoverer. America is the greatest example being named after her discoverer Amerigo Vespucci. Vancouver is also named after the explorer George Vancouver.

Literature has given a number of phrases or eponyms. Some famous ones are Achilles heel after the Greek mythological character Achilles. Interestingly, these eponyms have a story of their own to tell. According to legend, Thetis sought to make Achilles immortal, by dipping him in the subterranean River Styx, and succeeded with the exception of the heel by which she held him. This one vulnerable spot a poisoned arrow from the bow of Paris found out, and Achilles died prior to the fall of Troy. Thus, any weak area in a person is called the Achilles heel. Interestingly, Atlas, was a Titan who carried the world on his shoulders. For all of us an Atlas is something which brings us the world in its paper form. Arth-urian reminds of the glory of the great king, King Arthur. Chaplinesque belongs to the world of Charlie Chaplin, the king of slapstick comedy. Chauvinistic can be attributed to Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier famous for his devotion to Napoleon.

On a lighter note, we have many brands which have become eponyms with the product. Bata signifies footwear, toothpaste is called Colgate and detergent is eponymous with Surf. n