eponymous

American  

[uh-pon-uh-muhs] / əˈpɒn ə məs /

adjective

1. named after the specified person, place, or thing, usually its founder, creator, inventor, discoverer, or source.

   Having made her mark designing for major brands, she is launching a new, eponymous label.

   Emperor Constantine modeled his eponymous city, Constantinople, after Rome.

2. giving one’s name to a place or thing.

   The novel’s eponymous protagonist is actually Dr. Frankenstein, not his monster.

   Romulus killed Remus and became the eponymous founder of Rome.

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eponymous British  

/ ɪˈpɒnɪməs /

adjective

1. (of a person) being the person after whom a literary work, film, etc, is named

   the eponymous heroine in the film of Jane Eyre

2. (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator

   the Stooges' eponymous debut album

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Usage

What does eponymous mean? Eponymous is used to describe someone who has given their name to something or has had something named after them, as in I met the eponymous owner of Sally’s Restaurant at the farmer’s market yesterday. Eponymous can also be used to describe works of art that are named after their creator or lead fictional character, as in In Robinson Crusoe, the eponymous lead character lives alone on a deserted island for 28 years. Eponymous is a fancy word used to describe things (restaurants, books, movies, etc.) that are named after a person. One of the more common uses of eponymous is in articles or stories about the history of something that’s named after a person who is still alive or involved. For example, Walt E. Disney created his eponymous company, The Walt Disney Company.Eponym refers to the person something is named after. The Amazon tribe, a mythical Greek tribe, is the eponym of the Amazon River in South America.Example: The movie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows stars the eponymous detective in his most dangerous case yet!

Other Word Forms

• eponymously adverb

Etymology

Origin of eponymous

First recorded in 1840–50; from Greek epṓnymos “given as a name”; ep-, -onym, -ous

Example Sentences

The eponymous Skipton is an English writer struggling to make ends meet in Bruges, Belgium.

From The Wall Street Journal

I can’t go into details without crossing the dreaded spoiler line, but even accepting the impossible tech, much of “The Copenhagen Test” makes little practical sense, including the eponymous test.

From Los Angeles Times

But the plant soon began quietly dumping millions of gallons of chemical-laced waste into the town’s eponymous river and surrounding woods.

From Los Angeles Times

The eponymous character is a boy who wears a rabbit costume and has a quirky way of seeing the world; the main thing about the book is the inventive beauty of Sato’s vision.

From The Wall Street Journal

As the eponymous figure, a global Hollywood icon, Mr. Clooney is obtuse yet endearing as his character tries to reconnect with his young-adult daughter on a jaunt through Europe to an Italian film festival.

From The Wall Street Journal