Welcome to The Mad Logophile. Here, we explore words; their origins, evolution, usage. Words are alive; they are born, they change and, sometimes, they die. They are our principal tool for communicating with one another. There are millions of words yet only an estimated 171,476 words are in common current use. As a logophile, I enjoy discovering new words, using them and learning about their origins.
Okay, I know this was supposed to be people and places that became words but there are so many of each that I'm splitting it into two parts. This week we look at people who became words. Technically speaking, eponyms.
Things are named for people for several different reasons. Primarily, things are named for people who discovered or invented them. That's why so many elements, minerals, plants and animals bear the names of those who brought them to the world's attention. As does food.
To begin tonight, let's have a feast of names, as true epicures (after the Greek philosopher, Epicurus)... Our first course is Soup Fontanges (a soup of sorrel and peas in consommé with cream and egg yolks, named after Marie Angelique de Scorailles, Mlle. De Fontanges) with Melba toast (extremely dry toast named for Dame Nellie Melba).
For the salad course, you have a choice of Caesar salad (Caesar Cardini, an Italian who created the salad at his restaurant in 1924) or Cobb salad (named for Robert H. Cobb, owner of Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant).
For the main course, we have Oreiller de la Belle Aurore (after Claudine-Aurore, the mother of Jean Brillat-Savarin, is an elaborate pie containing a variety of game birds, veal, pork, truffles, aspic, and more, in puff pastry), Lobster Newburg (attributed to a Captain Ben Wenberg, who brought the recipe he had supposedly found in his travels to Delmonico's in the late 19th century. The switch of the B and W was due to a tiff between he and the chef), Veal Oscar (for Sweden's King Oscar II who was fond of this combination of veal, white asparagus, lobster and béarnaise sauce) or Chicken Tetrazzini (named for operatic soprano Louisa Tetrazzini and created in San Francisco).
Vegetable choices include Anna Potatoes (a casserole of sliced potatoes cooked in butter created and named by French chef Adolf Duglr for the well-known 19th-century courtesan/actress Anna Deslions), steamed Hubbard squash (for Elizabeth Hubbard of Massachusetts, who was an advocate of the heretofore unnamed squash), Apricots with rice la Jefferson (in honor of Thomas Jefferson's interest in improving American rice culture, to which end he illegally smuggled Piedmont rice out of Italy) and artichokes la Rachel (chef Charles Ranhofer created this dish in honor of singer Elisa-Rachel Flix).
The cheese course consists of Brillat-Savarin cheese (for French author and gourmand Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin) and King Christian IX cheese (for the Danish king) with Seckel pears (named for a Pennsylvania farmer), Bing cherries (after Oregon horticulturist Seth Luelling's Manchurian foreman Bing, who helped develop the fruit) and St. Julian plums (for Saint Julian the Hospitaler).
Now, on to dessert! Would you prefer Peach pudding la Cleveland (another dish by Charles Ranhofer in honor of Pres. Grover Cleveland), Bananas Foster (bananas in a brown sugar sauce served over ice cream named after Richard Foster, regular customer and friend of New Orleans restaurant owner Owen Brennan), Strawberries Romanoff (created by Antonin Creme, when he was chef to Czar Alexander I, Romanov being the Russian royal family surname) or Sacher Torte (created by and named for Viennese chef Franz sacher)?
To drink with this feast we have Dom Perignon (created by the French Benedictine monk), a Margarita (said to have been created for Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Cansino) or, if you're not an imbiber, a Shirley Temple (named for the child star) or maybe some Dr. Pepper (for pharmacy owner Wade Morrison's first boss, Dr. Charles Pepper). And let's not forget a nice after-dinner cappuccino (after the Capuchin monks).
For snacks later on we have Macadamia nuts (after Australian scientist John Macadam), Boysenberries (for Rudolph Boysen, American botanist), Graham crackers (after dietitian Sylvester Graham), nachos (created by Mexican Maitre d' Ignacio Anaya), pralines (for French soldier and diplomat César de Choiseul, Count Plessis-Praslin) or maybe a sandwich (after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich who would stuff meat between slices of bread so he didn't have to leave his poker games).
And don't forget the candy bars! There's Oh!Henry (named for its creator, Tom Henry), Baby Ruth (either named for Ruth Cleveland, daughter of Pres. Grover Cleveland or for the baseball player babe Ruth), Tootsie rolls and pops (after creator Leo Hirshfield's daughter whom he called "Tootsie"), Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (after creator Harry Burnett Reese), Heath bars (for the family that created it), Hershey bars and kisses (also for the family that created them) and Clark bars (named for its original inventor, David L. Clark, it was the first "combination bar" that combined multiple confections in one product).
Are we stuffed now?
The plant kingdom presents a great many eponyms. Most of them are contained in the scientific names of the plants, such as the Linnaea borealis, a Lappland flower that was named after botanist Carl Linnaeus (he has several species named for him). One gentian plant is even named for the band Green Day (Macrocarpaea dies-viridis). Many, though, are common names. Our garden has many people in it... In alphabetical order:
The begonia was named for Michel Bégon, a French patron of botany.
The exotic bougainvilleas are named for French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
The family bromeliad bears the name of Olaf Bromelius, a Swedish botanist.
Moravian Jesuit missionary George Josef Kamel lent his name to the camellia (which lends its name to some people).
Another Swedish botanist, Anders Dahl, gave his name to the dahlia.
The forsythia (which is in bloom right now) was given the name of British botanist William Forsyth.
The fragrant frangipani (AKA plumeria) bears the name of the Marquis Frangipani, a 16th century Italian nobleman.
Freesias were so called after German physician Friedrich Heinrich Theodor Freese.
A favorite Mother's Day gift, the fuschia bears the name of Leonard Fuchs, a German botanist.
The gardenia (one of my favorites) is not named after the garden but Alexander Garden, a Scottish-American botanist.
The lobelia gets its name from Flemish botanist and physician Matthias de Lobel.
The marigold is named for Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Joel Roberts Poinsett, a U. S. minister to Mexico, brought the poinsettia to America and it bears his name.
The giant sequoia is named for Sequoya (Sogwali), a Cherokee Indian who, living in the Southeast, would never have seen one.
Timothy Hanson, an 18th century American farmer is remembered by the Timothy grass.
The wisteria is named after American physician Caspar Wistar.
And the zinnia bears the name of Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botanist.
Continuing with the biological theme, most animals that bear the names of people do so in their scientific names. Exceptions include the Doberman Pinscher, which was named after Ludwig Dobermann, who created the breed. Another is the guppy who bears the name of a scientist and man of the cloth, Reverend Robert Lechmere Guppy. In 1866 the Reverend sent to London a small fish that he had collected from streams in Trinidad and it was named in his honor.
A selection of creatures who are named for people...
Albunea groeningi, a sand crab, is named for Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons."
Cartoonist Gary Larson has a few species named for him; the beetle Garylarsonus, a louse called Strigiphilus garylarsoni and a butterfly, the Serratoterga larsoni.
Dinosaurs are often named for famous figures. One discovered near Ghost Ranch, NM is named for the artist who lived nearby, Effigia okeeffeae (Georgia O'Keefe). Another, Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei, bears the name of author Arthur C. Clarke. Two dinosaurs honor the author of Jurrasic Park; Crichtonsaurus and Bienosaurus crichtonii. Getting the musicians into the dinosaur act is the Masiakasaurus knopfleri (after Mark Knofler).
Trilobites are a popular fossil animal to name after musicians. Both Miles Davis and Paul McCartney lent their names to species of them. An entire sub-family is named for the Ramones; Mackenziurus johnnyi, M. joeyi, M. deedeei, M. ceejayi. Even Mick Jagger has the Aegrotocatellus jaggeri. Not to be outdone, the King gets a dinossaur named after him, Elvisaurus Holmes, because it had a "pompadour-like" crest. He even had a wasp named after himself and one his songs; Preseucoila imallshookupis. But the champion modern musician, having five animals (and an asteroid) named for him, is Frank Zappa. The entire genus Zappa, the fossil gastropod Amaurotoma zappa, the fossil polychaete Oenonites zappae, an orb-weaver spider Pachygnatha zappa and the jellyfish Phialella zappai all honor the great Zappa.
Actors and filmmakers are represented in the animal kingdom, too. The spider Calponia harrisonfordi and the ant Pheidole harrisonfordi bear the name of Harrison Ford. John Cleese lends his name to the Avahi cleesei, a wooly lemur. A solitary wasp, the Rostropria garbo, honors Greta Garbo (think about it). A family of Hawaiian spiders are named for Orson Welles and several of his most famous roles; Orsonwelles othello, O. macbeth, O. falstaffius, O. ambersonorum. David Attenborough has an echidna, the Zaglossus attenboroughi, named for him. An Amazonian beetle, Agra katewinsletae, bears the name of Kate Winslet. In his campaign to get as many things as he can named after him, Stephen Colbert got a stonefly, the Diamphipnoa colberti, on that list.
A few philosophers who have been so honored are Buddha (the mollusk Buddhaites), Confucius (the feathered dinosaur Confuciusornis sanctus), Diogenes (hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes) and Plato, who has an entire spider family named for him.
Finally, in the most apropos bit of nomenclature ever, the Agathidium bushi, A. cheneyi and A. rumsfeldi are slime mold beetles.
Back to words that we are more likely to use and hear...
Many of us are fascinated by science. In that area, we run into many eponyms. There are several elements named for scientists. Bohrium, curium, einsteinium, fermium, lawrencium, meitnerium, mendelevium, nobelium, roentgenium, rutherfordium, and seaborgium are named after Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermium, Ernest Lawrence, Lise Meitner, Dmitri Mendeleev, Alfred Nobel, Wilhelm Roentgen, Ernest Rutherford and Glenn T. Seaborg, respectively.
Many substances that are not elemental bear the names of the people who discovered or invented them. One of my favorite categories in this area is stones. I have to admit to a bias here, as I work with these all the time since I'm a jewelry maker. Some stones named for people include alexandrite (Alexander I of Russia), brookite (Henry J. Brook), covellite (Niccola Covelli), dumortierite (Eugene Dumortier), goethite (Wolfgang von Goethe), larimar (Larissa Méndez), morganite (J.P. Morgan), prehnite (Hendrick von Prehn), sugilite (Ken-ichi Sugi), ulexite (G.L. Ulex) and zoisite (Sigmund Zois von Edelstein).
When you enter other realms of science, you come across more eponyms. Mathematics brings us algorithm (Arab mathematician al-Khowarizmi) and Fermat's theorum (Pierre de Fermat) among others. Physics has the ampere (André M. Ampère), coulomb (Charles de Coulomb), doppler effect (Christian Doppler), fahrenheit, celsius and kelvin (Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, Anders Celsius and Sir William Thompson, Lord Kelvin), the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (Werner Heisenberg), joule (James P. Joule), Kepler's laws (Johann Kepler), Newton's laws (Issac Newton), ohm (Georg S. Ohm) and watt (James Watt).
Medicine is a popular place for naming things after one's self; between body parts and diseases the list of medical eponyms is incredibly long. The parts of the body bearing names of those who figured out what they do include the Cowper's glands (William Cowper), the Eustachian tube (Bartolomeo Eustachi), the Fallopian tubes (Gabriele Falloppio), the ever-popular Gräfenberg spot or G-spot (Ernst Gräfenberg), the Islets of Langerhans (Paul Langerhans), McBurney's point (Charles McBurney), Rotter's lymph nodes (Josef Rotter), sideburns (Gen. Ambrose Burnside) and the Circle of Willis (Thomas Willis). Okay, we might know a few of those but diseases are better known and more widely spoken about. Addison's disease (Dr. Thomas Addison) is a chronic adrenal insufficiency that afflicted JFK, Alzheimer disease (Alois Alzheimer) is, sadly, something we are seeing more and more, Down syndrome (John Langdon Down) is caused by an abnormal chromosome, the dreaded Escherichia coli (Theodor Escherich) is in fact a bacteria but is the cause of a painful and sometimes deadly infection, what used to be called leprosy is now known as Hansen disease (Gerhard Armauer Hansen), both Hodgkin disease and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (Thomas Hodgkin) are familiar to many of us, Kaposi sarcoma (Moritz Kaposi) tends to affect those with AIDS, at one time I thought I had Ménière’s disease (Prosper Meniere) which affects the inner ear, Parkinson's disease (Dr. James Parkinson) affects actor Michael J. Fox, Reye's syndrome (Dr. R. Douglas Reye) is a recent discovery, another organism that causes problems is Salmonella (Daniel Elmer Salmon) and Tourette syndrome (Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette) is a misunderstood neural disorder.
Well, that was an interesting diversion. But unless we're scientists, we're not going to be using those words very much. What about the everday? What words do we use often that began as someone's name? Let's continue our exploration with the dreaded list because, doggone it, I'm getting tired!
Julius Caesar has a few things named after him, which would no doubt boost his ego. The month of July and the titles of Kaiser and Czar bear his name. The Caesarian section is thought to do, but that's up for debate.
The Irish gave us the word boycott during the Irish "Land War." It is derived from the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the estate agent of an absentee landlord, the Earl Erne. In September of 1880, protesting tenants demanded from Boycott a substantial reduction in their rents. He not only refused but also evicted them from the land. So everyone in the area just stopped dealing with him including his workers, local businessmen and even the mailman. He was eventually able to bring in his harvest but lost a lot of his wealth in the process. A boycott came to mean any organized isolation as a form of protest.
The computer savvy among us know that the baud unit is named after Emile Baudot, the inventor of the Baudot code for telegraphy. Very simply put, your baud rate is a measure of how quickly information travels from one computer to another.
Thomas Bowdler was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work that he considered to be more appropriate for women and children than the original. From him, we get the word bowdlerize to describe censorship.
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write. It was devised in 1821 by Frenchman Louis Braille.
James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, was the British general who led the charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. From him, we get the name of the sweater that he liked to wear and that Mr. Rogers took to the sublime.
The famous womanizer whose name remains synonymous with the art of seduction was Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt. He is sometimes called "the world's greatest lover" and men who follow in his...er... footsteps are called a Casanova in his honor.
The blessed John Duns Scotus was one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. It's a shame then, that his name gives us dunce. Some of his detractors coined the word to refute his scholarship many years after his death. Not very nice.
What would a carnival be without a Ferris wheel? George Washington Gale Ferris invented the ride which opened on June 21, 1893 at the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago.
If you like to play with a frisbee, then remember William Russell Frisbie, a pie shop owner in Bridgeport CT. He used to throw pie plates for fun until the plastic disc was invented and named for him.
Because of Richard J. Gatling, we found a new way to kill more people. The gatling gun was adopted by the Union army in 1866 and the rest is ugly history.
A Hobson's choice is a choice between taking the only option offered or not taking it, i.e. "take it or leave it." The phrase is said to originate from Thomas Hobson, a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.
If you enjoy sitting in a tub of hot water with air jets of bubbles for taking your cares away, you can say grazie to the Jacuzzi brothers. They developed the pump that makes the tub bubble for one of their children who was afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis.
Without the Kleig light, movies and plays would not look the same. The carbon arc lamp was invented by John H. Kliegl and his brother Anton Tiberius Kliegl.
Love your levis? Levi Strauss, who invented the pants by using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants is the guy to thank.
Speaking of guy... that word comes to us from Guy Fawkes, a British terrorist. He (along with buddy Robert Catesby) planned the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.
The Luddites were British textile artisans who protested against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution. They would often destroy mechanized looms which they felt were leaving them without work. They were named for the leader of the movement, Ned Ludd. Nowadays we use the word to describe anyone who dislikes technology.
The ugly practice of lynching, along with its name, comes from Charles Lynch, a Virginia planter and American Revolutionary who headed an irregular court to punish Loyalist supporters of the British. Or it may be from William Lynch, another Virginia plantation owner. Either way, the word lynch has comes to us as an ugly and cowardly act.
Both sadism and masochism come from two men who, while they did not actually invent the practices, fully embraced them. Austrian novelist Leopold von Sacher-Masoch gave us the term masochism, which is defined as "deriving pleasure from pain inflicted upon the person." The Marquis de Sade, however, was into giving that pain to others. Together, they form the name for the so-called deviant acts of sado-masochism.
From the wife of Mausolus, a 4th century B. C. king of Caria, Asia Minor, we get the word mausoleum. You see, she had the magnificent structure built for her husband. It was so wonderful that it was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. And all funereal buildings took the name ever after.
Physician F.A. Mesmer discovered a way of inducing hypnosis through what he called animal magnetism. Thanks to him we have the word mesmerize to describe the state of hypnosis or awe.
16th century Italian painter Titian was fond of using a bright reddish or golden auburn color. His frequent use of the color (especially for the hair) in his paintings gives us the word titian for it.
Jean Nicot was an ambassador sent from France to Portugal to negotiate a marriage between royal scions. When he returned, he brought tobacco plants with him and introduced snuff to the French court. Today, we remember him in the name of the addictive and toxic alkaline nicotine. How ignoble.
Every year many of us watch the Academy Awards. Few of us know, however that the nickname of the statuette awarded came from a real person. The Executive Secretary of the MPAA at the time the awards were begun, Margaret Herrick, took one look at the figure and remarked that it looked like her Uncle Oscar. So the statue came to be known by the name Oscar.
French chemist Louis Pasteur gave us the treatment for milk and other foods that kills harmful bacteria. Today nearly everyone eats pasteurized food.
Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling assisted Nazi Germany to conquer his own country. Quisling is now a term used to describe traitors and collaborators.
The country of Jamaica gave birth to a very popular religion. Rastafarian gets its name from from Ras (meaning "Head," an Ethiopian title), and Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I. The former emperor of Ethipia is believed to the returned messiah promised in the Bible.
Antoine-Joseph Sax, also known as Adolphe Sax, is the Belgian inventor who gave us the saxophone. He also invented the saxhorn.
Etienne de Silhouette, was a French finance minister reviled for his severe economic demands upon the French people. One of his favorite pastimes was making cut paper portraits. His name became synonymous with these portraits. Anything done or made cheaply and things that have no "filling" (like empty promises) are also known by this name.
Another musical instrument comes to us from John Phillip Sousa. The sousaphone is a tuba shaped to facilitate marching in a band. The horn was re-designed by Sousa so that the notes did not go upward but outward.
The Teddy Bear was named after president Theodore Roosevelt who, in a famous incident, refused to shoot a defenseless bear cub in a tree. The rest of the story isn't as happy; one of his guides shot the bear instead.
Actors are known as thespians because of Thespis of Icaria, a 6th century B. C. Greek poet. He is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor in a play, although this is hotly debated. In other sources, he is said to have introduced the first actor outside of the chorus.
The Thompson Submachine Gun was designed by General John T. Thompson. It was popularized during the wild Prohibition years, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. It was usually known by the shorter "Tommy Gun."
What household doesn't rely on Tupperware to store food? Earl Silas Tupper invented the airtight plastic containers in 1938. The patented "burping seal" distinguished it from competitors. He also pioneered the direct marketing strategy made famous by the Tupperware party.
German general and aeronautical pioneer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin designed the zeppelin between 1874 and 1893, which he later patented in the U.S. on March 14, 1899. His design was an outstanding success, so much so that the term zeppelin came to refer to all rigid airships.
There are SO many more. I have only scratched the surface of this category. So I know you all have more to add. Next week, we'll look at the toponyms. If you have a favorite, please e-mail me with it. For now though, the floor is yours....
EDIT: Gosh, the Rec list! Thank you so much. After the past few weeks, this is a welcome bit of good news. :)