eponyms

Noun

eponym (plural eponyms)

1. A person who gave or supposedly gave their name to a people, place, institution, etc.
   • The Greeks and Romans tended to credit nearly every location and ethnicity to a legendary eponym, Hellas to Hellen, Rome to Romulus, Egypt to Aegyptus, etc.

   Synonyms:

   eponymist, namesake

2. Something that is named after a person.

   Synonyms:

   namesake

3. (proscribed, sometimes) A name taken from a person, a namesake toponym, term, etc.
   • Alexandria is an eponym, taken from its founder Alexander the Great.

   Synonyms:

   deonym

4. (broadly, proscribed, sometimes) A name or term derived from any proper noun, inclusive of places, brands, etc.
   • "Tangerine" is an eponym in reference to Tangier... The unflattering eponym "shanghai" derived from the behavior of American shippers, not the Chinese themselves...
5. (archaic) Synonym of epitome, a person taken as a symbol or quintessential representative of some trait, school, etc.
   • Rockefeller became the very eponym of wealth.

   Synonyms:

   epitome

6. (archaic) Synonym of epithet, a distinguishing title.
   • It was only posthumously that Julian was distinguished with the eponym "Apostate".

   Synonyms:

   epithet