eponymous

eponym, eponymous

1. An eponym is a person after whom something is named, such as a building, an institution, an organization, a machine, a product, or a process. Examples include: Alzheimer's disease, from Alois Alzheimer, 1864–1915, German neurologist; Braille, from Louis Braille, 1809–52, French inventor; buckminsterfullerene, from the American designer and architect Richard Buckminster Fuller; diesel, from Rudolf Diesel, 1858–1913, German engineer; mackintosh, from Charles Macintosh, 1766–1843 (with a change of spelling); Morse code, from S. F. B. Morse, 1791–1872, American inventor; sandwich, from the 4th Earl of Sandwich, 1718–92.

2. The adjective eponymous is used in the following way: Beowulf is the eponymous hero of the Old English poem of that name; Emma is the eponymous heroine of the novel Emma by Jane Austen; and Robinson Crusoe is the eponymous hero of The Life and Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.