eponymous

English

WOTD – 25 October 2022

Etymology

PIE word
*h₁epi

From Ancient Greek ἐπώνῠμος (epṓnŭmos, “concerning giving one’s name to something; named in a significant manner; surnamed”) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting pertinence or relation).^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈpɒnɪməs/, /ɛ-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpɑnəməs/, /ɛ-/
• Hyphenation: ep‧o‧nym‧ous

Adjective

eponymous (comparative more eponymous, superlative most eponymous)

1. Of, relating to, or being the person or entity after which someone or something is named; serving as an eponym.

   Prince Hamlet is the eponymous protagonist of the Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet.

   Robinson Crusoe is the eponymous hero of the book.

   The language Limburgish is named after the eponymous provinces in Belgium and the Netherlands.

   • 2008, Nicholas Drayson, chapter 5, in A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, London: Penguin Books, published 2012, →ISBN, pages 24–25:

     Hadadas roost in numbers among the trees in the leafier parts of Nairobi and their eponymous call is one of the more insistent elements of the dawn chorus in that part of the world, though they may be heard at any time of the day.

2. Of a thing: named after a person or entity.

   The American singer-songwriter Madonna released her eponymous album in 1983.

Derived terms

• eponymously

Related terms

• eponym
• eponymic
• eponymically
• eponymism
• eponymist
• eponymize
• eponymy

Translations

of, relating to, or being the person or entity after which someone or something is named

Catalan: epònim (ca) Danish: navngivende Dutch: eponiem (nl), gelijknamig (nl), naamgevend Finnish: eponyyminen, samanniminen (fi) French: éponyme (fr) German: eponymisch (de), gleichnamig (de), namensgebend Greek: επωνυμικός (el) (eponymikós), επιλέγω (el) (epilégo), επιλεγόμενος (el) (epilegómenos) Hebrew: אֶפּוֹנִימִי m (eponími) Hungarian: azonos nevű/című, névadó (hu) Irish: eapainmneach Italian: eponimo (it) Polish: eponimiczny (pl), tytułowy (pl) Portuguese: epónimo Romanian: eponim (ro) Russian: одноимённый (ru) (odnoimjónnyj) Spanish: epónimo (es) Ukrainian: однойме́нний (odnojménnyj) Welsh: eponymaidd

of a thing: named after a person or entity

Finnish: mukaan nimetty (genitive + ~) Hebrew: אֶפּוֹנִים (he) m (eponím) Swedish: självbetitlad

See also

• namesake
• self-titled
• titular

References

1. “eponymous, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “eponymous, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• eponym on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “eponymous”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.