CHAPTER 12

Eponyms
Eponyms

Preview Questions
Many words have interesting stories
about them. Do you know where these
words come from?
sandwich

bikini

jumbo

Eponyms
Eponyms are
are words
words that
that come
come from
from the
the names
names of
of
people
people or
or places,
places, and
and they
they often
often tell
tell interesting
interesting
stories
stories too.
too. An
An example
example of
of an
an eponym
eponym is
is the
the word
word
afghan.
afghan. An
An afghan
afghan is
is aa small
small blanket
blanket that
that was
was first
first
made
made by
by people
people in
in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan. Today
Today in
in the
the U.S.,
U.S.,
people
people who
who have
have afghans
afghans often
often place
place the
the colorful
colorful
blankets
blankets over
over furniture.
furniture. The
The English
English language
language has
has
tens
tens of
of thousands
thousands of
of eponyms.
eponyms. Here
Here are
are some
some more
more
examples.
examples.

Words
Words that
that come
come from
from places
places
AAbikini
bikini is
is aa two-piece
two-piece swimsuit
swimsuit that
that was
was introduced
introduced
by
by aa French
French designer
designer in
in 1947.
1947.Around
Around this
this time,
time, the
the
United
United States
States dropped
dropped nuclear
nuclear bombs
bombs on
on Bikini
Bikini
Island,
Island, an
an event
event that
that shocked
shocked the
the world.
world. The
The
designer,
designer, whose
whose creation
creation shocked
shocked the
the fashion
fashion world,
world,
named
named his
his clothing
clothing after
after these
these events,
events, some
some believe.
believe.
The
The word
word sandwich
sandwich comes
comes from
from aa town
town that
that is
is in
in the
the
south
south of
of England.
England. In
In the
the 1700s,
1700s, an
an important
important man
man in
in
the
the town
town of
of Sandwich
Sandwich was
was John
John Montagu.
Montagu. One
One
evening,
evening, Montagu
Montagu sat
sat at
at aa table
table and
and gambled
gambled for
for 24
24
hours
hours without
without stopping,
stopping, and
and the
the only
only food
food that
that he
he ate
ate
was
was meat
meat with
with bread.
bread. That
That food
food was
was given
given the
the name
name
sandwich.
sandwich.
4

Words
Words that
that come
come from
from people
people (or
(or animals)
animals)
The
The word
word jumbo
jumbo comes
comes from
from aa very
very large
large elephant
elephant
that
that lived
lived in
in aa London
London zoo
zoo in
in the
the 1800s.
1800s. Its
Its name
name was
was
Jumbo.
Jumbo.
In
In Texas
Texas in
in the
the 1800s,
1800s, most
most people
people branded
branded their
their
cows
cows and
and kept
kept them
them on
on one
one piece
piece of
of land.
land. But
But
Samuel
Samuel Maverick
Maverick was
was man
man whose
whose cows
cows didnt
didnt have
have
brands.
brands. They
They walked
walked anywhere
anywhere they
they wanted.
wanted. This
This
was
was dangerous
dangerous because
because people
people could
could steal
steal the
the cows.
cows.
However,
However, Maverick
Maverick was
was aa person
person who
who took
took chances
chances
and
and didnt
didnt follow
follow the
the rules.
rules. Today,
Today,this
this is
is the
the definition
definition
of
of the
the word
word maverick.
maverick.
5

Reading Comprehension
Match each eponym in Column A with the correct definition in
Column B.

A
1. jumbo
2. sandwich
3. maverick
4. bikini

B
a. someone who doesnt follow
rules and takes chances
b. very big
c. womens clothing for
swimming
d. a kind of food you can eat
with your hands
6

GRAMMAR
PRACTICE

Complete the sentences with ALL the correct

answers. Use who, that, , which , or whose.

1. Many people ____________

have afghans
in their homes.
who, that
2. The man ____________
was famous for
not branding his cows was named Samuel
Maverick.
which, Jumbo lived in
3. The zoo that,
____________
was in London.
7

GRAMMAR
PRACTICE

Complete the sentences with ALL the correct

answers. Use who, that, , which , or whose.

who, that
4. Designer Louis Reard - the man _________
changed beach fashion forever - said that a
two-piece swimsuit was a bikini only if it
could be pulled through a wedding ring.
that, which, the sandwich is
5. The town ______________
named after is in the south of England.

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