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 C.


Calicut: Noun

1. A type of plain white or unbleached cotton cloth

2. Printed cotton fabric

The word is derived from Calicut, a seaport in South-East India, where the fabric originated


Casanova: Noun

A man notorious for seducing women and having many affairs

Italian adventures and smooth talker Giovanni Giacomo Casanova (1725-98), was noted for his affairs across different nations. In his memoirs, he gave lurid accounts of his many love affairs, claiming to have slept with well over thousand women, some of his lovewrs being mothers and daughters.


Chauvinism: Noun

1. Aggressive or exaggerated patriotism

2. Excessive or prejudiced support or loyalty for one’s own cause, group or sex

Nicholas Chauvin, said to have been in Napoleon’s army, displayed such exaggerated loyalty and patriotism, even after the fall of Napoleon, that others ridiculed him.


Cicerone: Noun

A guide who gives information to sightseers

A writer and a great orator of ancient Rome, Marcs Tullius Cicero (1906-43 BC) was renowned for his eloquent speeches. Modern tourists guides have to be eloquent speakers with a thorough knowledge of the historic locales they cover, hence the word Cicerone.

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