What are eponyms

We are going to study one of the word creation procedures, the eponyms.

The eponyms are those words that are normally common names that come from a proper name. In general, they are names of countries, a vital attitude, a certain time... They designate something with the name of another.

For example, a country is given the name of its discoverer, or a chemical element etc. That is why we say that they work by metonymic designation. In literature, a metonymy it is to designate something by the name of another.

It is typical that it happens with the name of products, which are called with the name of the brand and not with the product itself. (Lollipops).

We also explain the features of this type of words; its origin, where we can find them and the importance of it.

At the end we will see the typologies of eponyms, depending on whether they are more or less fossilized in our language (fossilized: if they have already become part of the normal vocabulary of our language).

We will also see examples of different eponyms to make it clearer for you.