Name-Dropping History
The Fascinating World of Eponyms
In our everyday chatter, we mention many different people, places and things without knowing we’re doing it. Any time you make a herculean effort, or complain about spartan conditions or order a sandwich, you are using an eponym – a word that has been derived from the name of something or someone. Here are a few – some of them surprised me!
Sandwich
From soggy tomato ones, gritty with sand from a day out at the beach, to high class brie and diced onion with honey, the sandwich is the egalitarian snack from palace to poorhouse. In the mid-eighteenth century John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, was much too busy at the gambling table to pay attention when he was called to dinner. He asked for the meat to be brought to him between two slices of bread to stop his hands getting sticky. John Montagu had first considered taking the title Earl of Portsmouth. If he hadn’t changed his mind we would be passing the plate round and asking visitors if they would like a cucumber portsmouth!
If he hadn’t changed his mind we would be passing the plate round and asking visitors if they would like a cucumber portsmouth!
Atlas
Most homes used to have an atlas on their shelves. In this age of Google Maps, they are mostly retired to dust and history. The name comes from one of the gods of Greek mythology, Atlas. He was a Titan and renowned for his strength and endurance. Unfortunately he was on the losing side in a battle with the mighty Zeus who punished him by condemning him to hold the heavens on his shoulders for eternity. Atlas is often shown holding up the world on his shoulders, but this is not accurate. His task is to support the celestial spheres – a ‘titanic’ struggle indeed!
Jumbo
Jumbo the elephant was born in the Sudan in 1861 and captured after his mother was killed by hunters. He grew to be larger than average at around 4 metres tall. He was transported thousands of miles and was kept in a menagerie in Germany before being taken to a zoo in Paris. In 1865 he arrived at London Zoo and became a famous attraction. In 1881 poor Jumbo was on his travels again, this time to New York and the travelling Barnum and Bailey Circus. Jumbo’s life in captivity ended in Canada when he was hit and killed by railway locomotive. His memory lives on in his name and we can now have anything from a jumbo ice lolly to a jumbo jet.
Silhouette
If you think austerity is a twenty-first century British condition, you mustn’t have heard of Etienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister in the time of Louis XV. In the 1760s Louis was running low on cash and needed pots of money to keep body and soul together as well as fighting the English at the time. Minister de Silhouette rose to the challenge and imposed loads of taxes on the wealthy and ordered the melting down of gold and silver. Those feeling the pinch began to say that something cheap and affordable in a frugal lifestyle was ‘à la Silhouette’. Getting your portrait painted was expensive so the new trend of making facial likenesses through the cutting out of a cardboard profile was a cheaper alternative, à la Silhouette, and the name stuck.
Spartan
If you didn’t want to be a soldier, you didn’t want to be born in Sparta! Sparta was one of the ancient Greek city states. The only hobby Spartan men were allowed was being in the army. If there wasn’t a handy battle going on, you practised fighting in case there was a good one just round the corner. Weak babies, boys and girls, were left to die and boys left their families when they were seven years old to live in an army school. Discipline wasn’t just strict, it was harsh. They were given minimal rations and were taught what it was never to have quite enough. Clothing was insufficient in cold weather. Boys became full soldiers at the age of twenty. When they were presented with their shield, they were told, “Come back with it – or on it”. Nobody dared to ask for a gap year! A Spartan life was a hard one. I’d have moved to Athens!
When they were presented with their shield, they were told, “Come back with it – or on it”.
Leotard
The nineteenth century acrobat Jules Léotard didn’t know he was wearing a leotard when he was throwing himself around on his trapeze. Léotard, the inspiration for the famous song, ‘That daring young man on the flying trapeze’, was under the impression he was wearing a ‘maillot’, a French word meaning a tightfitting shirt. However, the skin-tight one-piece became so identified with him that his name became attached to it after he died. Leotards are now universally practical for casual, sports or even performance wear. Let’s just say leotards might have looked good on Mr Léotard but they’re certainly not a good look on everyone!
Luddite
If you’d rather use a pen than a computer you could be called a modern day Luddite, someone who doesn’t like modern contraptions with bells and whistles and would rather stick to the good old ways of doing things. There is some argument over whether a man called Ned Ludd really existed. He was probably Edward Ludlam, born in Leicester around 1770. The Industrial Revolution was making an impact on the livelihoods of traditional workers and craftsmen. In frustration some agitators began to do what Ned Ludd, in a fit of temper, had apparently done to two knitting frames, they smashed up the machines that were taking away their jobs. So if you don’t like technological innovations, I’m afraid you’re a Luddite!
Panic
Dad’s Army wouldn’t be the same without the occasional outbreak of Corporal Jones shouting “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!” while panicking very loudly indeed. Jones’ condition owes its name to the Greek god Pan. He was actually a very nice fellow but he had a streak of rascality. He wandered about the woods and countryside playing his pipes (incidentally, the origin of the instrument ‘pan pipes’). When a traveller came along, Pan would have fun by rustling bushes, shouting and scaring them. Eventually the poor traveller would be frightened out of his wits! The Greeks called this state ‘panikion’ from which we get our word ‘panic’.
Jezebel
Jezebel was a nasty piece of work, according to Biblical accounts. She was the wife of Ahab, one of the ancient kings of Israel. He is thought to have been king in the eighth century BC. She was brought from Phoenicia to marry Ahab in a gesture of friendship between the two peoples. She was stronger than her husband and was disgusted when poor old Ahab went into a sulk because a local landowner wouldn’t sell his land to him. She contrived to have the poor landowner killed and told her husband he could stop sulking and go and take what he wanted. This act, and many others, mean that she couldn’t complain about the way her name has been immortalized to mean a deceitful, selfish and controlling woman.
If you want to find out more, there are lots of articles on eponyms on the web. Click here for one example.
How many can you think of?
The ones mentioned here are all historical. Can you think of any modern ones – even ones that originated in the 21st century?
Pop your suggestions in the Comments below!
Comments