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
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from eponym
eponymic
\ ˌe-pə-ˈni-mik
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of eponym in a Sentence
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
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Occasionally an eponym is formed by combining a name with some other word. — Ben Zimmer, WSJ, "Kondo-ing: A Guru of Organizing Becomes a Verb," 17 Jan. 2019 Future use of the eponym should reflect the troubling context of its origins in Nazi-era Vienna. — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, "Hans Asperger, hailed for autism research, may have sent child patients to be killed by Nazis," 19 Apr. 2018 Cable news proved to be an only slightly less absurd medium on Saturday, when noted hilarious eponym Rick Santorum criticized the students for their failure to learn first aid in response to the epidemic of mass shootings. — Jay Willis, GQ, "The Campaign to Discredit the Parkland Teens Reeks of Desperation," 26 Mar. 2018 Who knows, maybe someone will try to launch a brand called Romilly and present the 18th-century horological eponym as the inventor of the chronograph? — Nick Foulkes, A-LIST, "The Story of Slicing and Dicing Time," 24 Dec. 2017 Embracing this honorary eponym, Google Trends has released a trove of data that not only reveals 2017’s most popular Halloween costume in the U.S. (Wonder Woman), but also breaks ideas down state by state. — John Patrick Pullen, Fortune, "This Year's Hottest Halloween Costumes, According to Google's Search Data," 23 Oct. 2017 Also missing were the political jabs of Alfred E. Smith IV, the great-grandson of the dinner’s eponym, who stepped down as master of ceremonies after last year’s dinner after serving in that position for 35 years. — Sharon Otterman, New York Times, "At Al Smith Dinner, Paul Ryan’s Best Jokes Are Aimed at Trump," 19 Oct. 2017 For the first time since the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award was created in 1988, it was presented without its eponym. — Allan Kreda, New York Times, "Rangers Tradition Takes On Added Poignancy With Loss of ‘a Hero’," 9 Apr. 2017 Theo has won a competition for building the Tower of London in Legos (an architect like his eponym), while Tess trots around Manhattan with a giant part-cat part-wolf, and has a tendency to imagine every worst possible situation. — John Stephens, New York Times, "Solve a Puzzle in the Past, Save New York Present," 11 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eponym.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for eponym
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