Eponym
[EP-ə-nim]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Greek, mid-19th century
1.
A person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc., is named or thought to be named.
2.
A name or noun formed after a person.
Examples of Eponym in a sentence
"The professor discovered a new species of beetle, so he became the eponym."
"The eponym was given as an honor, but he quickly became annoyed at having to cook his signature dish every night."
About Eponym
We're not always very creative when it comes to naming things. Scientific discoveries, new territories, fashion trends, and art — all commonly given eponymous titles. An eponym is either the person after whom something is named (The Duke of Windsor is the eponym for the Windsor Knot), or it is the noun created after a person (sandwich is the eponym from the Earl of Sandwich).
Did you Know?
The word eponym is actually a back-formation — created by removing a prefix or suffix from an older word — of the adjective eponymous. The adjective describes the person giving their name, or something named after the person. Both adjective and noun owe their names to the Greek "epōnumos," meaning given as a name.
