eponymous

English

WOTD – 25 October 2022

Etymology

PIE word
*h₁epi

From Ancient Greek ἐπώνῠμος (epṓnumos, “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] Ἐπώνῠμος (Epṓnumos) is derived from ἐπί- (epí-, prefix meaning ‘on, upon’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at; near; on”)) + Aeolic Greek ὄνῠμᾰ (ónuma) (from Ancient Greek ὄνομᾰ (ónoma, “a name”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“a name”), perhaps from *h₃neh₃- (“to name”)).

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)

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.
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 (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)

References

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