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It's no coincidence that "eponymous" has to do with naming - it comes to us from the Greek adjective epōnymos, which is itself from onyma, meaning "name." "Onyma" has lent its name to a number of English words, including "synonymous," "pseudonym," and "anonymous." Traditionally, an eponymous person or thing (i.e., an "eponym") might be a mythical ancestor or totem believed to be the source of a clan's name. Today, however, "eponymous" more typically refers to such individuals as the front man of "Theo's Trio" or the owner of "Sally's Restaurant" (Theo and Sally, respectively, of course). The things that are named for such name-providers are also "eponymous." For example, we can speak of "the eponymous 'Ed Sullivan Show'" as well as "the eponymous Ed Sullivan."

Examples of eponymous in a Sentence

… Ramayana, an Indian epic which chronicles, in sixty thousand verses, the adventures of its eponymous hero Rama … — Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999 "Cool Britannia," which goes back to Ben and Jerry's eponymous ice cream in Spring 1996, met its sell-by-date within weeks … — Harold Perkin, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Dec. 1998 Karen Hubert Allison, the eponymous (if you count middle names) creator of Hubert's, didn't know she was making dining history … — Peter Kaminsky, New York Times Book Review, 11 May 1997

Recent Examples on the Web Bloomberg's eponymous company began as a financial information service in 1982, but launched a news division in 1990 to deliver financial stories to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers. — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2022 Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a filing Tuesday that Trump's eponymous company may have the documents being sought, but Trump himself does not. — Graham Kates, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2022 The founder of eponymous company Painted by Kayla Payne, in Harrison, Ark., covered her own kitchen cabinets with the hue. — Kathryn O’shea-evans, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2022 The Aggie alumni club was founded in 1921 and Aggie Park dates from 1946 when 10 A&M grads, include H.B. Zachry, later founder of the eponymous construction company, chipped in $100 each to buy 3.3 acres of land from an area dairy farmer. — Richard A. Marini, San Antonio Express-News, 1 Mar. 2022 Her eponymous company, Shondaland, is upping its longtime development executive Alison Eakle to chief content officer and its strategy and business development officer Chris DiIorio to chief marketing officer. — Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2022 Fischetti & Malgieri represents Trump in the parallel investigations by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York state Attorney General Letitia James into the business practices of Trump's eponymous company. — Soo Rin Kim, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2022 From dorm-room CEO to leader of a global technology giant, Michael Dell charts the evolution of his eponymous computer company and shares his perspectives on the corporate struggles that defined him as a leader. — Peter High, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2022 All components are made by hand by Eleta for his eponymous company with timekeeping functions ranging from time and date to moon phase, perpetual calendar and astronomical displays. — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 15 Dec. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eponymous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.