Synonym vs eponym

Question

What is the difference between a synonym and an eponym?

Zafar142003 · Accepted Answer

eponym: a word derived from the name of a person, eg sandwitch, thermos etc.
synonym: a word that means the same as another word in the same language..

Dokterjokkebrok · Answer

Hi,

AnonymousWhat is the difference between a synonym and an eponym?

They're quite different. A synonym is a word (or sometimes phrase) which has the same meaning (or almost the same meaning) as another word in the same language.

For example:

Car - Automobile
bike - bicycle

An eponym is something completely different. It has to do with the etymology, or origin of words.
Eponyms are based on a person's name or a place name. For example, the word sandwich can be traced back to a certain Earl of Sandwich – which was not this person's actual name, just his title – and who allegedly thought that his bread was rather boring. It is said that he wanted more layers of bread so as to make his lunch more interesting. As a result, the word 'Sandwich', which had, until then, only been used to denote the area of Sandwich, Kent in England, was now also used to refer to 'two pieces of bread with something in between'.

Kind regards,

Synonym vs eponym

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