English for Students

Eponyms

Called Eponyms, many words tell interesting tales about their origins.Wittingly or unwittingly, few people and places have left their names for posterity through words that were coined after them. These words are derived from the names of real, fictional, mythical or spurious persons, places or characters, although many of these Eponyms come from the persons surnames.


Here is The List of Eponyms beginning with B.

Bayonet: Noun

A long blade or dagger fixed to the muzzle of a rifle for use in hand-to-hand fighting

Bayonne, a town in south-west France, has been immortalized with the word Bayonet, where these long daggers were first made.


Bloomers: Noun

1. Historical Women’s loose-fitting trousers, gathered at the knee or ankle

2. Women’s loose-fitting knee-length knickers

In 1849, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Miller invented a working model of a garment and showed them to famous women’s rights activist, Amelia Jenks Bloomer. The garment was both modest (those garments then reached down to the ankles) and convenient. Mrs. Bloomer loved the garment and promptly sponsored it. And the word Bloomer soon saw the light of the day.


Bobbitt: Verb

To forcefully cut off the male organ or penis

In the 1990’s, an American housewife, Lorena Bobbitt, was fed up of her husband’s never-ending affairs. When umpteen warnings failed to have the desired results, in a fit of anger one night, Lorena Bobbitt simply lopped off her husband’s penis while he was sleeping.


Bowdlerize: Verb

Remove (from a text) material that is regarded as improper, offensive or politically incorrect.

In 1818, an English editor Dr. Thomas Bowdler published an expurgated edition of the Family Shakespeare. In Bowler’s edition, “those words and expressions are omitted which can not with propriety be read aloud in a family".


Boycott: Verb

With from commercial or social relations with, as a form of punishment or in protest, refuse to bur or handle goods for this reason.


Boycott: Noun

An act of boycotting

The first person to be boycotted in 1880 was Captain Charles C Boycott, an Irish land agent, whose tenants tried to get their rents reduced through this stratagem.


Bushism: Noun

To indulge in malapropism while speaking, to utter a nonsensical word or sentence that conveys the opposite of what the person wishes to say.

George W Bush, 43rd President of the United States, gets the credit for inadvertently being the creator of this word.

Some popular Bushism:

• I firmly believe the death tax is good for people from all walks of life throughout our society.

• I love the idea of a school in which people come to get educated and stay in the same state in which they are educated.

• We are ready for any unforeseen event which may or may not happen.

• To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say, you too can be President of this country.

Analysts conjecture that President George Bush could either be suffering from dyslexia (word blindness) or aphasia (the inability to express thoughts in words).


Called Eponyms, many words tell interesting tales about their origins.Wittingly or unwittingly, few people and places have left their names for posterity through words that were coined after them. These words are derived from the names of real, fictional, mythical or spurious persons, places or characters, although many of these Eponyms come from the persons surnames.Here is the list of Eponyms for your refrence.

Word Power Index

From Eponyms to HOME PAGE