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Solecism
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:35 pm
by bnjtokyo
A recent GoodWord of the Day, "Gaffe," was defined, in part, as a "solecism." Being unsure of the definition of "solecism," I looked it up in etymonline, the Online Etymology Dictionary, where I learned it derives from Greek "soloikos 'speaking incorrectly, using provincialisms,' also 'awkward or rude in manners,' said to have meant originally 'speaking like the people of Soloi,' a Greek colony in Cilicia (modern Mezitli in Turkey), whose dialect the Athenians considered barbarous." That caused me to wonder whether "solecism" should be deemed an eponym. But I then discovered it is not included in Dr. Goodword's collection of Eponyms (
https://www.alphadictionary.com/article ... index.html)
Is "solecism" inadvertently omitted from the list of eponyms linked above or does it fail to quality in some way?
Re: Eponyms
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:22 pm
by Audiendus
Some other eponyms not in the list:
Carolina (from the Latin form of 'Charles', i.e. King Charles II)
cordwainer (from 'Cordoba')
Dickensian
landau (from the German city of that name)
Re: Solecism
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:03 pm
by Dr. Goodword
Indeed, it was an oversight. When I made up my list of eponyms I was unaware of the etymology of solecism.
Carolina doesn't qualify because it is not a commonzation, but a proper noun from a proper noun. Ditto for Dickensian. The meaning of the latter word hasn't changed, either. Landau and cordovan do qualify.
I will add all these to my eponym list this weekend.
--RB
Re: Solecism
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:46 pm
by Dr. Goodword
They're up now. Yall are both credited.
Re: Solecism
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:51 pm
by Audiendus
Carolina doesn't qualify because it is not a commonzation, but a proper noun from a proper noun. Ditto for Dickensian. The meaning of the latter word hasn't changed, either.
But
Georgia,
Georgian and
Rabelaisian are included. (I was thinking of
Dickensian in the sense of 'squalid, poverty-stricken' rather than 'relating to Dickens'.)
Also, in the
Moonie entry, you may wish to include Sun Myung Moon's year of death (2012).
Re: Solecism
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 2:44 am
by bnjtokyo
Dr. Goodword, thank you for your kind words. But may I ask about "denim", from "serge de Nimes" and "jean(s)," from "Genoa" after spending some time in French. Please see my earlier post in the Etymology forum.
Re: Solecism
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2020 2:58 am
by brogine
How about ‘peeler’, another name for a bobby. Primarily UK Irish, I think. I first heard it in a republican song, and later, once or twice, in a British TV show. Same eponym. (Isn’t the person the eponym?) Probably the only guy to have double-dipped.
Oh, if a third reference would be helpful, it’s also in the OED. It actually precedes ‘bobby’ by three decades.
I know punctuation is supposed to go inside closing quotation marks, but it seems illogical.
Also Napoleon.
Re: Solecism
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:21 am
by Slava
Wouldn't solecism and the like be toponyms, rather than eponyms? Or is that picking a nit?
Re: Solecism
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 6:39 pm
by brogine
Ooh, ooh! another one, courtesy of “Call the Midwife”.
In addition to the garment, ‘garibaldi’ can refer to a popular British ‘biscuit’ something like a fig newton, although I think it’s a brand name, so maybe that doesn’t count.
Now I think of it, it’s more like a two-dimensional Pop Tart.