M&M’s and Other Eponyms

If you look up eponym in Webster, you'll find that using Webster as a synonym for dictionary is a perfectly eponymous thing to do. An eponym, you see, is a word derived from the proper name of a person or place.

Some eponyms are fairly well known. There's the sandwich, for instance--famously consumed (if not invented) by John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich. And pasteurization, from the name of the fearless French chemist who invented the process. Then there's valentine, from the saintly name of not one but two early Christian martyrs. And quixotic, from the windmill-tilting hero of Cervantes' great romance, Don Quixote.

But there are hundreds of other eponyms whose etymologies are less familiar. Here are a few.

• Amp and Ampere (from André Marie Ampère, 1775-1836)
  The term for a unit of electric current was named after the French mathematician who's credited with the discovery of electromagnetism.



• Diesel (from Rudolf Diesel, 1858-1913)
  After surviving the explosion of his first internal combustion engine, German engineer Rudolf Diesel went on to achieve wealth and fame--until drowning when he went overboard while crossing the English Channel by steamer.



• Draconian, from Draco (7th century BC)
  The first chief magistrate of ancient Athens, Draco composed a memorably harsh legal code, one that liberally applied the death penalty.



• Guppy, from R.J. Lechmere Guppy (1836-1916)
  This small freshwater fish bears the name of the British-born naturalist who discovered it while he was living in Trinidad.



• Leotard, from Jules Leotard (1830-1870)
  French aerialist Jules Leotard not only had a tight-fitting garment named after him but also had a popular song written about him--"The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze."



• Salisbury steak, from James H. Salisbury (1823–1905)
  American physician James Salisbury invented this cafeteria staple as part of his highly questionable all-meat diet.

The list goes on: dunce, saxophone, filbert, sequoia, mausoleum, masochism, zeppelin . . .. If we've neglected your favorite eponym, please click on "comments" and send it along.

Finally, a word of caution to those in the back of the class. Don't confuse eponyms with those candy-coated bits of chocolate that "melt in your mouth, not in your hand." M&M's were named in the 1930s by candy man Forrest Mars and his partner Bruce Murrie.

More Words About Words:

• Bdelygmia: The Perfect Rant
• Merriam-Webster Welcomes the Mondegreen
• The Chaos (of English Spelling and Pronunciation)

Image: M&M's® Chocolate Candy, a trademark of Mars, Incorporated and its Affiliates