Eponym (linguistics)

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The term eponym ( neuter , ancient Greek ἐπώνυμος epṓnymos , German 'naming' , from ἐπι epi , German 'an' , 'bei', 'nach' and ὄνομα ónoma , German 'name' ) is used in linguistics with two opposite meanings :

  1. Either for a word that is derived from a proper name (from 1679 also known as a patronymic ),
  2. Or for the proper name itself, which is the etymological basis for such a derivation (since 1755). Then the result of such a derivation is denoted by the opposite term deonym .

Eponym as the opposite of deonym

In the deonomastics initiated by Enzo La Stella in Romance linguistics since the 1980s , the subject area of ​​which is those elements of a vocabulary that are derived from proper names, the proper name, which is the etymological basis of such a derivation , is referred to as an eponym . The result of the derivation, which in turn can also be a proper name, an appellative , a verb or an adjective , was called a deonomasticon by La Stella , while his successors use the term deonym (from Latin de 'from' , 'ab - 'and Greek ὀνομα ' name ' ) or deonymic derivation .

Example: Guillotine " guillotine " and guillotine "execute with the guillotine " are deonyms in the understanding of deonomastics, derived from the eponym Guillotin , the name of the French doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin , on whose initiative the guillotine was introduced into the French penal system as an execution machine has been.

Eponym as a name for the derivation of the name

In the English-language or English-language linguistics and in Slavic studies , unless they have already followed the terminology of deonomics, the result of the derivation from a proper name (i.e. the deonym in the understanding of deonomics) is called an eponym .

Guillotine " guillotine " and guillotine "execute with the guillotine " are eponyms in this understanding, while the basic name ( guillotin ) is not differentiated terminologically with its own opposite term.

Outside of linguistics, this usage is particularly widespread in popular science and the history of science or technology, where 'eponyms' are derived from an appellative from a brand name (e.g. Tempo in the generalized meaning of "paper handkerchief") or, similar to the case of guillotine “Guillotine”, “commemorative” derivatives of the name for an invention or discovery from the name of its inventor or discoverer or another person to be particularly honored are in the foreground and the linguistic differentiation between primary and derived usage is not of primary importance.

On the part of deonomastics, this use of the term eponym was sometimes criticized as "less appropriate" and a source of possible misunderstandings.

See also

Remarks

  1. ^ A b Axel Karenberg : Medical-historical-linguistic-historical notes on mythological names in modern medical vocabulary . In: Würzburg medical history reports . tape 21 , 2002, p. 18–24 , here p. 18 .
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Schweickard : Deonomastics. Derivations on the basis of proper names in French, with comparative consideration of Italian, Romanian and Spanish (=  supplements to the journal for Romance philology . Volume 241 ). Niemeyer, Tübingen 1992, p. 4 .