eponym

ep·onym

noun \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

Examples of EPONYM

1. 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
2. Toadfishes burp the songs of their eponyms; one sort of toadfish is called the singing midshipman. —John Hersey, Harper's, May 1987
3. 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

Origin of EPONYM

Greek epōnymos, from epōnymos eponymous, from epi- + onyma name — more at name

First Known Use: 1846

Rhymes with EPONYM

acronym, anonym, antonym, cryptonym, homonym, metonym, paronym, pseudonym, retronym, seraphim, synonym, tautonym, toponym, underbrim