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Proper names
4.9 Words
from Proper Names
Apart
from the means of word?formation discussed so far, there is an interesting
source of English vocabulary, i.e. proper nouns. A good example of such
is the word sandwich, which now denotes a popular fast food. It
originates from John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich in 18th-century
England. He was so fond of gambling that he often forgot his meals. He
often ordered slices of bread with thick pieces of roast beef stuffed
between them be brought to him so he could eat while playing. Later, people
used his name to refer to all similar food. This is how his name came
to be in common use. Modern English has a large number of words which
come from proper nouns. They include names of people, names of places,
names of books and trade names.
●●● Names of people
1. Names of people
Words
of this group are from names of scientists, inventors, etc. e.g. ampere,
farad, ohm, volt, watt from French physicist Ampere, British
physicist Faraday, German physicist Ohm, Italian physicist
Volta and Scottish inventor Watt respectively. These terms are now used
as measurements of electricity. Similarly, diesel was invented
by the German inventor Diesel, mackintosh (waterproof cloth
or rain coat) by the Scottish inventor Mackintosh, and bloomers
(woman's short loose trousers gathered at the knee) by Mrs Bloomers
in New York.
Some
words are from characters in mythology, e.g. cherub (a charming
pretty male child) from Cherub, a winged little attendant of God,
and protean (able to assume different forms or characters; versatile)
from Proteus, a sea deity with the gift of prophecy and the power
to assume different forms.
Some
are from historical figures, e.g. bobby (BrE policeman) from Sir
Robert Peel, founder of London police in early 19th century; cynic
(one always suspicious of people's motives and quisling (traitor), from
Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian army officer who betrayed his country
to the Nazis.
There are words from characters in literary works, e.g. quixotic
(extravagantly romantic, idealistic, chivalrous), from Don Quixote
in the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes, sadism (getting
sexual pleasure from hurting other people) from Count Donation (Marquis)
de Sade, and robot (a humanoid mechanical creature), from
the mechanical monsters in the play R.U.R. by Karel Capek.
●●● Names of places
2. Names of places
Many
words denoting products, objects or materials come from the names of places
where they were first produced, e.g. china (porcelain), from the
homeland China, afghan (a kind of knitted rug) first made
in Afghanistan, jersey (sweater) from Jersey Island
in the US, champagne (a kind of wine) from Champagne in
France where the wine champagne was first produced, and rugby (a
sort of ball games) from a British Rugby School, which used to
be known for the game.
●●● Names of books
3. Names of books
Quite
a few words come from names of books and thus take on the meanings associated
with the names described in the books. For example, utopia (a imaginary
perfect society) is from Sir Thomas More's book Utopia, odyssey
(an extended journey) from Homer's epic The Odyssey, which describes
all the hardships Odysseus experienced on his voyage home after the fall
of Troy, and Babbit (a person concerned mainly with business and
position, caring little for art or culture) from the novel Babbitt
by Sinclair Lewis.
●●● Tradenames
4. Tradenames
Words
like nylon, orlon, dacron, rayon were originally tradenames and
are now used to denote the four types of fabric. Other examples are Frisbee
(a plate-like toy), deep-freeze (a deep freezer), Omega
(a kind of cigarette), xerox (photocopier) and so on.
When
proper nouns are commonized, many of them have lost their original identity:
a) the initial letter may not be capitalized as already shown; they can
be converted to other classes, e.g. boycott (n & v) meaning
'refusal or refuse to do business with, attend or take part in, as a way
of disapproval or opposition' from the 19th century Landlord Captain Boycott,
and cabal (n & v) meaning 'clique or make secret plans for
political action', from the initial letters of the five ministers Clifford,
Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and lauderdale.
These
words can also take suffixes -ic, -an, -al, -ist,-ese,-ish, -esque
to form adjectives as in colossal, irenic, stentorian, Micawberish, picaresque,
and suffixes -ism, -(i)ne, -age, -ade, -ia, -ity, -ry to form nouns
as in solecism, morphine, sabotage, pasquinade, Babbittry, magnolia,
etc.
●●● Stylistic effect
Words
that are commonized from proper nouns have rich cultural associations
and thus stylistically vivid, impressive and thought-provoking, e.g.
[19] I want to be TV's czar of script and grammar.
[20] Churchill, a bent Pickwick in blue uniform, looked up at him
with majestic good humor, much older, more
dignified, more assured.
[21] It is with procrustean thoroughness that the Soviet government
squelches all dissent.
The
word czar refers to the emperors of Russia until 1917, but it originates
from the Roman Emperor Caesar. Now it is used to denote 'any one with
great or unlimited power', 'authority'. So in sentence [19] the speaker
wants to have the same power and authority in the realm of TV script and
grammar as Caesar did in the Roman Empire, implying his domineering personality
and ambition.
In
sentence [20] Churchill is compared to Pickwick, a naive, benevolent
character in Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. The word Pickwick
not only describes the outward appearance of Churchill but also depicts
his inward personality, building up an amiable image in the reader's mind,
so vivid and striking as if right in front of one.
The
word procrustean conjures up quite a different image. It is from
Procrustes, a giant of Attica who tortured travellers by stretching
or cutting off their limbs to make them fit his bed, hence 'ruthless in
trying to force conformity'. The soviet government treats the dissent
with the same cruelty as Procrustes did with the travellers, leaving an
unforgettable picture of horror and terror. Needless to say, the replacement
of these words with synonymous equivalents would surely have completely
different effect.
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