eponym
noun
ep·onym
ˈe-pə-ˌnim 
1
: one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named
2
: a name (as of a drug or a disease) based on or derived from an eponym
Examples of eponym in a Sentence
Joseph Banks was surely the eponym of eponyms. From Alaska to Indonesia, from Tierra del Fuego to Tasmania, there are capes, islands, straits, mountains, bays, points, channels, peninsulas, counties and towns named after him.
—
Pat Rogers, Times Literary Supplement, 3–9 June 1988
Toadfishes burp the songs of their eponyms; one sort of toadfish is called the singing midshipman.
—John Hersey, Harper's, May 1987
Almost from the onset of television, congressmen have realized the promotional potential of the carefully scripted hearing: the McCarthy and Kefauver hearings of the 1950s, which were among the first "televison events," made their eponyms famous.
—Gregg Easterbrook, Atlantic, Dec. 1984
Pat Rogers, Times Literary Supplement, 3–9 June 1988
Toadfishes burp the songs of their eponyms; one sort of toadfish is called the singing midshipman.
—John Hersey, Harper's, May 1987
Almost from the onset of television, congressmen have realized the promotional potential of the carefully scripted hearing: the McCarthy and Kefauver hearings of the 1950s, which were among the first "televison events," made their eponyms famous.
—Gregg Easterbrook, Atlantic, Dec. 1984
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet despite calls to drop the eponym, the species has not been renamed by the ICZN.
—Asher Elbein, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 June 2023
Thays is also the eponym for the nearby Carlos Thays Botanical Garden, a gated green space where chirping birds drown out traffic.
—Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2022
Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga, for choir, percussion quartet and orchestra, sets a Spanish libretto by Santiago Martín Bermúdez that pays tribute to the eponym’s revolutionary spirit.
—Dallas News, 8 June 2022
Over the next half-century, New College developed a reputation for providing a top-notch liberal arts education, inspired by the tutorial model of its Oxford eponym.
—Jack McCordick, The New Republic, 11 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for eponym 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Asher Elbein, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 June 2023
Thays is also the eponym for the nearby Carlos Thays Botanical Garden, a gated green space where chirping birds drown out traffic.
—Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2022
Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga, for choir, percussion quartet and orchestra, sets a Spanish libretto by Santiago Martín Bermúdez that pays tribute to the eponym’s revolutionary spirit.
—Dallas News, 8 June 2022
Over the next half-century, New College developed a reputation for providing a top-notch liberal arts education, inspired by the tutorial model of its Oxford eponym.
—Jack McCordick, The New Republic, 11 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for eponym
Dictionary Entries Near eponym
Cite this Entry
“Eponym.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponym. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
eponym
noun
ep·onym
ˈep-ə-ˌnim
1
: the person for whom something (as a disease) is or is believed to be named
2
: a name (as of a drug or a disease) based on or derived from the name of a person
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share