Definition of EPONYMOUS

Did You Know?

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

Deutsche also owns Germany’s biggest retail bank, combining an eponymous posh brand and the dowdier Postbank, and almost 80% of the country’s biggest asset manager, DWS. — The Economist, "Deutsche Bank shrinks and restructures," 8 July 2019 In February, Gucci discontinued a black turtleneck sweater with a red-rimmed cutout for the mouth, and Katy Perry’s eponymous shoe collection dropped two pairs of black shoes embellished with eyes and exaggerated red lips. — Kim Willis, USA TODAY, "Italian airline Alitalia 'deeply apologizes' for Obama video showing an actor in blackface," 4 July 2019 Her in-laws, the eponymous Elizabeth and Zyggie, started the stand in Dundalk in 1995. — Christina Tkacik, baltimoresun.com, "10 Baltimore area snowball stands worth your time," 26 June 2019 For example, a 120,000-year-old Neanderthal was found in the Siberian Denisova cave—the eponymous site where the Neanderthal’s big-toothed cousin the Denisovans were discovered. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Ancient DNA reveals new twists in Neanderthal migration," 26 June 2019 Pansino’s eponymous channel has 11.2 million subscribers, and her videos have been viewed more than 2.7 billion times. — Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, "YouTube Star Rosanna Pansino Hospitalized with 'Major Internal Infection'," 26 June 2019 His eponymous firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group (with a URL to pique Freudian psychoanalysts: big.dk) have their sights on even bigger prospects. — Anne Quito, Quartzy, "Architect Bjarke Ingels is already designing for 130 years in the future," 22 June 2019 The first season of The Terror was based on the eponymous 2007 novel by Dan Simmons that was a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John S. Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition to hunt for the Northwest Passage in 1846. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Evil shapeshifters stalk by night in first trailer for AMC’s The Terror: Infamy," 20 June 2019 At Hakushu, an idyllic mountain distillery a few hours outside of Tokyo, water carried down from the Japanese Alps that’s naturally far softer than Scotch distilleries complements the eponymous whisky’s characteristic smokiness. — Hannah Lott-schwartz, Fortune, "Inside Japan’s Oldest Whisky Distillery," 16 June 2019

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.