Эпонимы в современном английском языке

Eponymy in the English language

New words come into English in many different ways

• from other languages;
• some are invented;
• some come from proper names.

The object of the paper is the research of scientific literature on modern eponymous processes.

The aim of the paper is to explore the ways of transition of proper names into common nouns.

Practical importance: it can help English learners to find out more about the origin of English words and to enrich their lexicon.

The word “eponymy” came into English about 1860-1865 from the Greek “epōnymía”

Eponym is a person or thing, whether real or fictional, after which a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named.

Ways of eponym formation

Simple eponyms

Boycott

Possessive constructions

Abraham Lincoln’s Rumination

Compounds and attributive constructions

Alfredo sauce (named for Alfredo di Lelio, an Italian cook)

Clippings

Casper(program Caspersky,)

Suffix -based derivatives

Leninism, Marxism

Blends

Nixonomics(Nixon+economics)

Donor areas for the creation of eponyms

1

First/middle names

2

Last names

3

Unreal, virtual, literary characters

4

Mythological and religious characters

5

Place names

6

Lifeless objects having proper names (chrematonyms)

7

Brand names

Classification of Eponyms

EPONYMS

Horse racing

Clothes

Food & drinks

Eponyms in science

Eponyms derived from characters in fiction, mythology

Human qualities

1.Clothes

Named for  Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan  who was minus an arm. The special type of sleeve made his jacket fit better

Stetson- a cowboy hat

Raglan

2.Food & drinks

Bloody Mary

(after the nickname of Mary I,Queen of England,notorious for persecution of Protestants. )

Caesar Salad

The phrase derives from the Italian-American restaurateur and chef Caesar Cardini. He is credited with having created the Caesar salad which became fashionable among Hollywood and other celebrities.

3. Human qualities

"fine-mannered libertine" [Century Dictionary],

from the name of the hero of Richardson's "Clarissa Harlowe" (1748).

Hooligan

(from Patrick Hooligan, a rowdy fictional Irishman who travelled to England and became a criminal.)

4.Eponyms in science

Diesel(from Rudolf Diesel )

Amp and Ampere

5.Eponyms derived from characters in fiction, mythology, or geographical locations

Panacea, hygeia — the Roman god of medicine

the word panacea came to mean a cure-all, a universal medicine or remedy.

Phaeton is an open four-wheeled carriage drawn by a pair of horses and designed to accommodate two persons plus a driver .

The name for these means of transportation was taken from the name Phaeton, the son of Helios, god of the sun .

6.Horse racing

Jockey

Derby

Do you know any eponyms which came into Russian from other languages?

Sandwich

Boycott

The name comes from John Sandwich who was known for his love of gambling. He spent 24 hours at the gaming table, eating only meat between slices of bread

After Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent in County Mayo, Ireland, ostracized in 1880 for refusing to reduce rents .

Bluetooth

The wireless protocol named for Viking King, Harald Blatand (c. 910-987) whose name translates to bluetooth.

Conclusion

• Eponymy is one of the productive ways of word formation in the English language .

• Various types of proper names are able to turn into eponyms

• Structurally and semantically eponyms differ.

• Donor areas for the creation of eponyms are various