My wondrous word this week comes from a Goodreads quote of the day. Do you get those? They are very inspiring to this reader/ writer. The quote for Monday, October 20, 2014 was:
The thing about getting older is that you don’t need everything to be possible any more, you just need things to be certain.
Interesting, although I don’t agree. As much as I crave certainty, the older I get, the more I realize how uncertain everything is. I’m getting more comfortable with “possible” – sometimes with good reason. (Like, it is possible that a publisher will pick up my book.)
Anyway, this quote comes from author Monica Ali, a British writer best known for her book Brick Lane, which is about the eponymous street at the heart of London’s Bangladeshi community.
The use of eponymous threw me, particularly sad since I own a CD by REM called Eponymous, and I never bothered to look up this cryptic word.
Eponymous \i-‘pä-nə-məs\ adjective, from Greek epi + onyma name; relating to or being the person or thing for which something is named
This is one of those words that might be best understood through several examples:
- Jane Eyre tells the story of the eponymous heroine and her tumultuous relationship with Mr. Rochester.
- Prince Hamlet is the eponymous protagonist of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.
- Wytheville, the eponymous name of my town, honors George Wythe, the second signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Not sure what any of that has to do with the REM CD. If a band names a CD after itself, that is an eponymous name for the album.
Word Nerd Workout
Share an example of an eponymous name.
Be sure to visit Kathy, our meme hostess, at Bermuda Onion for more interesting words.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Julia
I also enjoy GoodReads’ quote-of-the-day. I had the same reaction to this quote. I thin you and I look at life realistically and with a good dose of faith and hope.
I consider myself in good company with you, Margot. 😉
Thanks again for your clarification. I read eponymous and never know what it means. I live in oil field and ranch country. The land and terrain are barren and wild out here. There is a road that leads to a particular oilfield, called the Black & Yellow Road. It is paved with asphalt and has the yellow lane divider down the center. Hopefully this example will help me remember eponymous in the future.
That’s a great example Judy. Thanks.
I have quite a few REM Cd’s but not this one, I shall have to look it up. Nice word – eponymous, I like the way it moves around the mouth. 🙂
I remember eponymous by relating it to anonymous — which means no name at all. And then there’s pseudonymous, which means fake name.
I think I’ve seen eponymous used most often when referring to the first albums of groups, where the album is named for the group.
I had that CD too, and never bothered to look up the word. I’m having trouble coming up with a sentence, but I’m glad to finally know what it means!
Lori of Lara Britt Writes once referred to my eponymous website, and I had to look up the definition 🙂
Good word, glad that you shared it.
I thought eponymous meant what something’s known for, not what it’s named for. Off the top of my head I can’t think of an eponymous name. 🙁
That is not a work that would roll off your tongue easily.
I’ve seen this in Publishers Weekly announcements before as well. Fancy word 🙂
You bet – now go use it at a party and impress your friends. Unless you’re like me, and you don’t get to many parties. Then at least try to impress your spouse and the teenagers. 😉