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 X.




Xanadu: Noun

An imaginary wonderful place

The word is an alteration of Shang-tu, an ancient city in south-east Mongolia, as portrayed in Coleridge’s poem, Kubla Khan (1816).




Xerox: Noun

Trademark, A xerographic copying process, a copy made using such a process




Xerox: Verb

Copy (a document) by such a process

This term arose in the 1950s based on Xerography which was derived from the company’s name Xerox. Years ago, Xerox protested that the trademark of the company could not be used as a verb and splashed ads to drive the point home. Despite this, the photocopy is today termed as a Xerox, even if erroneously.

Word Power Index