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Eponym Lecture 12

12 Eponyms, Toponyms

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Data on linguistic study of eponyms and toponyms

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  • Eponym

    Lecture 12

  • The term derives from Ancient Greek epnumos, fromepi = upon and

    onoma= name.

    Eponyms are word forms by the word formation process in which a new word is formed from the name of a real or fictious person. After this person a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named

    or thought to be named.

  • There are some people from the past whose

    lives have permanently changed our everyday language. For example:

    - the ancient Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar was such a famous dictator that today any dictator can be called a caesar;

    - Louis Braille created a system for the blind = the Braille.


  • History

    Both in ancient Greece and independently among the Hebrews, tribes often took the name of a legendary leader (as Achaeus for Achaeans, or Dorus for Dorians). The eponym gave apparent meaning to the mysterious names of tribes, and sometimes, as in the Sons of Noah, provided a primitive attempt

    at ethnology as well, in the genealogical relationships of eponymous originators.

  • Places and towns can also be given an eponymous name through a relationship (real or imagined) to an important figure. Peloponnesus, for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek god Pelops. In historical times, new towns have often been named (and older communities renamed) after their founders, discoverers, or after notable individuals. Examples include Vancouver, British Columbia, named after the explorer George Vancouver.


  • Writing the eponyms

    Because proper nouns are capitalized in English, the usual default for eponyms is to capitalize the eponymous part of a term. The common-noun part is not capitalized (unless it is part of a title or it is the first word in a sentence).

    For example, in Parkinson disease (named after James Parkinson), Parkinson is capitalized, but disease is not.

  • However, some eponymous adjectives are nowadays entered in many dictionaries as lowercase when they have evolved a common status, no longer deriving their meaning from the proper-noun origin.

  • Here are some well-known examples:

    praline

    Count Plessis-Praslin (1598-1675), French soldier whose cook invented praline - a sweet food made of nuts cooked in boiling sugar.

  • Parkinsons disease

    James Parkinson(1755 1824)was an English surgeon,apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist,

    and political activist. He is most famous for his 1817 work,An Essay on the Shaking Palsyin which he was the first to describe "paralysis agitans", a condition that would later be renamed Parkinson's disease.

  • boycott

    Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 19 June 1897) was a British land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the verb to boycott. He had served in the British Army 39th Foot, which brought him to Ireland. After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for LordErne.

  • chauvinism

    Nicolas Chauvinis a legendary, possibly apocryphalFrenchsoldierandpatriotwho is supposed to have served in the First Army of theFrench Republicand subsequently inLa Grande ArmeofNapoleon. His name is the eponym of chauvinism, a term for excessive nationalistic fervor.

  • cardigan

    A knitted sweater or jacket fastened down the front with buttons. Source of the word: the English cavalry officer James Thomas Brudenell, seventh earl of Cardigan (1797-1868), who spent his inherited wealth to make his regiment the best dressed in the service. The garment was first worn during the Crimean War as protection against the cold winters.

  • magnolia

    A genus of shrubs and trees with large showy flowers. Source of the word: Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), a French botanist famed for his system of plant classification.

  • sandwich

    The modern sandwich is named after Lord Sandwich.

    A very conversant gambler, Lord Sandwich did not take the time to have a meal during his long hours playing at the card table. Consequently, he would ask his servants to bring him slices of meat between two slices of bread; a habit well known among his gambling friends. Others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" - the sandwich was born.

  • Oscar

    = statuette awarded for excellence in film acting, directing, etc., given annually since, 1928 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The name Oscar was first applied to the statuette in 1936. The story is that Margaret Herrick, the Academys librarian, reacted to her first look at the statuette with the remark: He reminds me of my Uncle Oscar. Her uncle was Oscar Pierce, U.S. wheat farmer and fruit grower.

  • nicotine

    A chemical compound known for its presence in tobacco. Source of the word: Jean Nicot (1530-1600), a French diplomat and scholar who introduced tobacco into France.

  • teddy bear

    A stuffed toy bear. Source of the expression: Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt, nicknamed Teddy, was known as a hunter. The use of the term teddy bear began after a cartoon depicted Roosevelt sparing the life of a bear cub while hunting.

  • jacuzzi

    Candido Jacuzzi (1903 1986) was an Italian immigrant to the United States of America. Candido Jacuzzi invented the Jacuzzi whirlpool bath for his son, Kenny Jacuzzi, 15-month-old son who was born with rheumatoid arthritis. He developed a pump that enabled a whirlpool to be created in a bath as a hydrotherapeutic device for pain relief.

  • denim

    The name "denim" derives from the French serge de Nmes, referring to the city ofNmes.Denim was traditionally colored blue withindigo dyeto makeblue jeans, although "jean" formerly denoted a different, lighter, cotton fabric. The contemporary use of the word "jean" comes from the French word forGenoa,Italy(Gnes),where the first denimtrouserswere made. Denim has been used in the USA since the late 18th century.
  • Find about the following people + eponym

    Alois AlzheimerJohn DaltonAnders DahlAdolf DasslerRudolf Christian Karl DieselAlexandre Gustave EiffelEnzo Anselmo FerrariKing Camp Gillette
  • Charles Henry HarrodAlfred NobelCeresJohn Duns ScotusJoseph Ignace GuillotinNarcissusLouis PasteurDaniel Elmer Salmon
  • Alois Alzheimer was born in Bavaria in 1864.

    In 1901, Dr. Alzheimer observed a patient at the Frankfut. The 51-year-old patient had strange behavioral symptoms, including a loss of short-term memory. This patient would become his obsession over the coming years. In April 1906, Mrs. Deter died and Alzheimer had the patient records and the brain brought to Munich.

  • John Dalton (1766 1844) was an Englishchemist, physicist, andmeteorologist. In his first paper on "Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours", (postulated that shortage in colour perception caused by discoloration of the liquid medium of the eyeball). Since both he and his brother were colour blind, he recognized that this condition must be hereditary.
  • Anders Dahl(1751 - 1789) was aSwedishbotanistand student ofCarolus Linnaeus. Thedahliaflower is named after him.
  • Adolf "Adi" Dassler(1900 -1978) was thefounderof theGermansportswear companyAdidas. Trained as a cobbler, Adi Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's laundry after his return from World War I. His father, Christoph, and the Zehlein brothers, supported Dassler in starting his own business. On 1 July 1924, his older brotherRudolf Dassler joined the business.
  • Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel(1858 1913) was a Germaninventorandmechanical engineer, famous for the invention of thediesel engine. Diesel was the subject of the 1942 filmDiesel.
  • Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832 1923) was a Frenchcivil engineerand architect. He is best known for the world-famousEiffel Tower, built for the1889 Universal Expositionin Paris.
  • Enzo Anselmo Ferrari, was anItalianmotor racing driver andentrepreneur, the founder of theScuderia FerrariGrand Prix motor racingteam, and subsequently of theFerrariautomobile marque.
  • King Camp Gillette(1855 1932) was anAmerican businessman. He invented abest sellingversion of thesafety razor.Several models were in existence before Gillette's design. Gillette's innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel.Gillette is widely credited with inventing the so-calledrazor and blades business model, where razors are sold cheaply to increase the market for blades.
  • Charles Henry Harrod(1799 1885)was abusinessmaninvolved inretail tradewho founded the highly successfulHarrodsstore inLondon. He moved toLondonwhere he began sellinggroceriesin Stepney. Harrod concentrated on encouraging wealthy people to his store and provided a personalised service for important customers. He also managed to increase trade by introducing his own brand groceries patriotically packaged in the colours of theUnion Flag.
  • Alfred Bernhard Nobel(1833 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, inventor and armaments manufacturer. Nobel held 350 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. His fortune was used posthumously to institute theNobel Prizes.
  • TOPONYMS

    The study of such place names is known as toponymics or toponymy. Types of toponym include:

    agronym (the name of a field or pasture), dromonym (the name of a transportation route), drymonym (the name of a forest or grove), econym (the name of a village or town), limnonym (the name of a lake or pond), and necronym (the name of a cemetery or burial ground).
  • The word is derived from the Greek words tpos ("place") and noma ("name"). Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics the study of names of all kinds.

    Toponym is the general term for any place name. Related, more specific types of toponym include hydronym for a body of water and oronym for a mountain or hill. A toponymist is one who studies toponymy.

  • It can be argued that the first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of specific place names as part of their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for the etiological legends. The process of folk etymology usually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds.


  • Types of Toponyms

    Descriptive: Rocky Mountains, Chicago (Smelly Onions in the language of the first inhabitants).Associative: Mill River (a mill was on the river), SpringfieldIncident Names: Battle Creek, Bloody Ridge, Cut and ShootPossessive Names: Castro Valley, Pittsburgh
  • Commemorative (commemorating someone well-known or in honor of a famous person): St Louis, San Jacinto, Houston, Seattle (named after Chief Seattle), Austin, Pennsylvania (Penn's Woods), Illinois (after the Illini Indians)Commendatory (praising): Pleasant Valley, GreenlandManufactured (made up names): Tesnus (Sunset spelled backwards), Reklaw (Walker spelled backwards), Iraan (Ira and Ann name the town after each other)
  • Mistaken (historic errors in identification or translation): West Indies (not west of the Indies and not the Indies)Shift Names (relocated names or names from settler's homeland): Athens (Greece and Texas), Palestine (Middle East and Texas), New Mexico (settlers from Mexico named their new home after their previous home), New England