Delving into the lives of so many historical figures-scientists, inventors, and writers, all long gone-has brought new life to me, as I hope it will to those who read this book. The compiling of these many, and unrelated, entries has been a real but pleasureable challenge. For example, Morris is named for William and Mary Morris Brewer for E.
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In the text that names of prominent writers, from whose works citations have been borrowed, are given by their surname only if their full name and accreditation is given in the bibliography. Many excellent possibilities may have to be disixĬarded and some fields-such as medicine-satisfied with a smattering of entries. The size and purpose of a book on ponymy must therefore be considered in the selection proce s. The number of eponyms to select from is astronomical, for any proper noun can be a candidate. In this book, however, the eponyms will honor their original meaning, a name-giver, the person or thing from which the eponymous words were derived. With them, Shakespearean and macadamize would be regarded as eponyms. But a trend am g some writers is to consider the eponym the word that stems from the proper noun rather than the root word itself. Some are verbs- Macadam, macada ze Paseur, pasteurize Bowdler, bowdlerize. In these two examples the eponymous words are nouns, but many such words are adjectives-Shakespeare, Shakespearean Victoria Victorian Rebelais, Rabelaisian. And the same may be said about the word guillotine, the instrument for decapitation, named for Dr. This is an eponymous term for Godfrey Derrick, the notorious hangman. For example, a derrick is a hoisting crane. The word was a coined from two Greek words, epi, "on" or "upon," and onama, "a name." But its broadened meaning, as dictionaries set it out, refers to the person for whom something is named. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1775, did not include it.
Preface The term eponym was created about a century ago. Let's see now-freeman? Forget the dictionary definitions: a person not in slavery or serfdom, or one who loves English and appreciates its value, and helps the rest of us-to our great benefit-to do so, too. Because this is a foreword, however, I get to go first: An eponym is a proper name that comes to stand for a place, or a thing, or an institution. Here, then, is his latest undertaking in that line. In his books, Mort has sought to drive that lesson home, not in an academic way, but by example, by showing how using the language well can be profitable, can be fascinating, and can be fun.
It was also because they had never been led to understand the delight that English imaginatively used, precisely used, humorously used, appropriately used an offer. That was because they had never been led to understand the satisfaction that can come from using the language well. There was more: a view both of us had that when it came to English, too many Americans were leading sadly and unnecessaril deprived lives. Not only, however, in prese ing and protecting it. It was through a mutual interest in English, i preserving and protecting the language. Still, permit me to say how Mort and I came to be friends.
Mine is that Morton Freeman and I are friends, from which it follows that I have a friendly interest in the success of this book. Nonetheless, one should declare one's interest. PE1596.F73 1997 423':1-dc20 96-32608 ISBN 0-19-509354-2 (Pbk.) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of Americaįoreword by Edwin Newman Writing the foreword to someone else's book is not the same as testifying in court, or appearing before Congressional committee. Includes bibliographical references (p.). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Freeman, Morton S. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Freeman First published in 1997 by Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016' First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1997 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc. Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Bombay Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies i n Berlin IbadanĬopyright © 1997 by Morton S.
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