"I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way." ~ Mark Twain

April 28, 2011 7:43 AM

Eponym, Nym Words, A Dictionary of Medical Eponyms, American Proprietary Eponyms, & Other Proprietary Eponyms.
posted by Fizz (16 comments total)

Nice.

A couple to add that I didn't see:

"Tivo" , both noun and verb, used generically for DVR.

"Adrenaline", for epinephrine.

From wickuhpedia:

This chemical is widely referred to as "adrenaline" outside of the United States; however, its United States Adopted Name and International Nonproprietary Name is "epinephrine". Epinephrine was chosen because adrenaline bore too much similarity to the Parke, Davis & Co trademark Adrenalin (without the "e"), which was registered in the United States. The British Approved Name and European Pharmacopoeia term for this chemical is adrenaline, and is indeed now one of the few differences between the INN and BAN systems of names.[25]

Amongst American health professionals and scientists, the term epinephrine is used over adrenaline. However, it should be noted that pharmaceuticals that mimic the effects of epinephrine are often called adrenergics, and receptors for epinephrine are called adrenergic receptors or adrenoceptors.

posted by Herodios at 7:57 AM on April 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

How to remember your ZZTop members: Frank Beard had none. (Anti-aptronym?)
posted by Eideteker at 8:25 AM on April 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ah, this is called Orynymy. Thanks!
posted by Eideteker at 8:30 AM on April 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I can't believe that list of "nym words" left out E-U-O-N-Y-M.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:01 AM on April 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I have never viewed that particular video. Thanks for sharing ethnomethodologist.
posted by Fizz at 9:05 AM on April 28, 2011

What about the zamboni? Pardon me, I mean the Zamboni-brand ice resurfacing machine.
posted by Kabanos at 9:37 AM on April 28, 2011

The brand name must also be capitalized (order of of decreasing acceptability: SARAN WRAP, SARAN WRAP, or Saran Wrap)

Can anyone enlighten me as to why the first is preferable to the second?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:49 AM on April 28, 2011

What about the zamboni? Pardon me, I mean the Zamboni-brand ice resurfacing machine.

From the news section of the website zamboni.com: ZAMBONI® NAMED OFFICIAL ICE RESURFACER OF THE NHL.

That must have been a barn-burner of a nomination meeting.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:52 AM on April 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

WARNING: "contest" spamrape pop-up on the second link ('Nym Words').
posted by herbplarfegan at 9:52 AM on April 28, 2011

From the fourth link: ESCALATOR? Seriously?
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 10:30 AM on April 28, 2011

So could we say that these links explain the Secret of Nym?
posted by shiu mai baby at 11:29 AM on April 28, 2011

Thanks for the links, especially to whonamedit.com. I should put together a list of pro wrestling eponyms one of these days. Thesz press, Guerrero special, Fujiwara armbar...
posted by jtron at 11:31 AM on April 28, 2011

The song "Bo Diddley"
appears on the album Bo Diddley,
by Elias O. Bates,
who calls himself (and nearly everything else in his world) Bo Diddley,
more or less after the diddley bow,
and features the bo diddley beat, one of the world's few eponymous rhythms.
Finally, the Obamas' dog is supposedly named for the musician.
So it goes.

The song "Bad Company"
appears on the album Bad Company,
by the band Bad Company,
which was named more or less for the film Bad Company.

The song "Black Sabbath"
appears on the album Black Sabbath,
by the band Black Sabbath,
which was named more or less for the film Black Sabbath.


There are others. . .
posted by Herodios at 12:17 PM on April 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

If there is no name for that I propose "trilateral eponyrock"
posted by jtron at 1:01 PM on April 28, 2011

I at first saw nothing but a bunch of om nom nom up there.
posted by hypersloth at 9:50 PM on April 28, 2011

There are others. . .

yup
posted by various at 11:16 PM on April 28, 2011