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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006part of speech inquiry
What part of speech, if there is a category, is it when you use, for example, a person's name as a new (usually slang?) expression or term? A recent, probably well-known, example would be the use of Monica Lewinsky's (re: President Clinton) last name to refer to fellatio. As in, "I got a Lewinsky last night." Or, if your friend, Quinn, is known for doing something all the time (or once), you might say, "I pulled a Quinn." > What part of speech, if there is a category, is it when you use, for > example, a person's name as a new (usually slang?) expression or term? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > for doing something all the time (or once), you might say, "I pulled a > Quinn." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eponym It's worth reading in full, but the direct answer, as given there, is "eponym": "An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item." An eponymous phrase is whatever part of speech it is used as, usually a noun, sometimes an adjective, less commonly other things. In many eponymous uses, the person's name is an obvious tag, as in Ohm's Law; but sometimes the bare name itself becomes the word, as in your inquiry. A few well-known one-word eponymous forms: bloomers (the garment), after Ameila Bloomer; sideburns, originally burnsides (the facial hair), after General Ambrose Burnside; or diesel (the engine type), after Rudolf Diesel. (Note again that the _person_ is the eponym, not the derived word or phrase.) > A few well-known one-word eponymous forms: bloomers (the garment), > after Ameila Bloomer; sideburns, originally burnsides (the facial > hair), after General Ambrose Burnside; or diesel (the engine type), > after Rudolf Diesel. (Note again that the _person_ is the eponym, > not the derived word or phrase.) The examples you give have survived, but more often such fame is fleeting. Only a few years ago we got a new term for having one's penis chopped off. The poor fellow is presumably still suffering the after-effects, but already I've forgotten his name. In some other cases the eponymous term survives, but the identity of the person is lost. We still know what is meant by "he rogered the cabin boy", but I doubt that anyone knows who the original Roger was.  SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. [...] > (Note again that the _person_ is the eponym, > > not the derived word or phrase.) That appears to have been true early on, but these days dictionaries say that "eponym" can refer either to the name of the person or to the word taken from that name. American, _Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate_ (_MWCD11_): 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 British, _New Shorter Oxford_ (_NSOED_): 1 A person whose name has given rise (in fact or by repute) to the name of a people, place, institution, etc.; a personal name used as a common noun or used to form a common noun. M19. b A name or noun formed in this way. L19. The online _Oxford English Dictionary_ has the date 1846 for "eponym" referring strictly to the person, and 1885 for the word so formed. It says ADDITIONS SERIES 1993 eponym, n. Add: [1.] c. A proper name used generically; more loosely, the generic name itself, or any noun phrase of specific meaning which includes a proper name. 1885 Jrnl. Nerv. & Mental Dis. XII. 349 The very awkward dionymic eponym, Circulus Willisi. 1946 J. DOBSON Anatomical Eponyms 2 A great many of the old and well-known eponyms that perpetuated the names of some of the masters of Anatomy have been successfully eliminated. 1960 [see PENDRED n.]. 1982 Daily Tel. 23 Dec. 6/7 Some eponyms are euphemisms of a sort{em}Casanova, dunce and lush, for instance. There be surprises, but sure enough, from _MWCD11_: Main Entry: dunce Etymology: John Duns Scotus, whose once accepted writings were ridiculed in the 16th century However, _MWCD11_ says the etymology of "lush" is unknown, and _NSOED_ guesses at its etymology but the guesses don't include eponymicity. But where there's smoke, someone must at least have lit a match. Can anyone here say why someone has thought that "lush" was an eponym? > 1982 Daily Tel. 23 Dec. 6/7 Some eponyms are > euphemisms of a sort{em}Casanova, dunce and lush, > for instance. [snip] > However, _MWCD11_ says the etymology of "lush" is unknown, > and _NSOED_ guesses at its etymology but the guesses don't [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "lush" was an eponym? > Putting "lush" into that oh-so-handy Quick Search box at the AUE Website gives this article -- see final reference: http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990519 SignatureBest - Donna Richoux > > 1982 Daily Tel. 23 Dec. 6/7 Some eponyms are > > euphemisms of a sort{em}Casanova, dunce and lush, > > for instance. > [snip] > > However, _MWCD11_ says the etymology of "lush" is unknown, > > and _NSOED_ guesses at its etymology but the guesses don't > > include eponymicity. > > But where there's smoke, someone must at least have lit a > > match. Can anyone here say why someone has thought that > > "lush" was an eponym? > Putting "lush" into that oh-so-handy Quick Search box at the AUE Website > gives this article -- see final reference: > http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990519 Thanks. That appears to nail the source of the idea. At that URL they say The Oxford English Dictionary mentions a drinking society called the "City of Lushington," alleged to have met since about 1745, but this cannot be confirmed. Lushington was used from the early nineteenth century in allusive phrases referring to alcohol and drunkenness. The _Oxford English Dictionary_ (_OED_) says under "Lushington" [Punning use of the surname Lushington, with allusion to LUSH n.2 The City of Lushington was the name of a convivial society (consisting chiefly of actors) which met at the Harp Tavern, Russell Street, until about 1895. It had a Lord Mayor and four aldermen, presiding over wards called Juniper, Poverty, Lunacy, and Suicide. On the admission of a new member, the Lord Mayor (of late years at least) harangued him on the evils of excess in drink. The City claimed to have existed for 150 years; if this claim be well-founded, the existence of LUSH n.2 will be authenticated for a date considerably earlier than that of our first quot. Our information is from Sir B. Davies, the last Lord Mayor of Lushington.] I don't know what Random House WOTD is referring to when they say "this cannot be confirmed", but maybe it applies only to the date 1745. Anyway, after reading all of the relevant material in _OED_, I would be willing to believe that "lush", meaning "a drunkard" and with unknown etymology, came first, and the fictional "City of Lushington" was a play on that meaning of "lush". That would be in contradistinction to the "drunkard" meaning of "lush" being derived from "Lushington". On 13 Nov 2006, Bob Cunningham wrote > However, _MWCD11_ says the etymology of "lush" is unknown, > and _NSOED_ guesses at its etymology but the guesses don't [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > match. Can anyone here say why someone has thought that > "lush" was an eponym? There was Lord Justice Sir Robert Lush in the 19th century; I seem to recall that his wife (or possibly a daughter-in-law) was involved in philanthrophic support of some sort in Victorian London. Soo maybe somebody clocked the name and the word, and assumed eponymicity. SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van |
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