A word or name formed by combining the first letters or groups of letters from a phrase. For example, SCUBA comes from self-contained underwaterbreathing apparatus. A name that’s especially suited to the profession of its owner. For example, Sally Ride, the astronaut. A word that takes on a new meaning when capitalized. For example, polish (pol-ish), Polish (Polish). The name of a literary character that especially suits his or her personality. For example, Charles Dickens’s Scrooge is a miser. A real or mythical person from whose name a place, a thing, or an event is taken. The earl of Sandwich, for example, the first person to ask for meat between two slices of bread, is the eponym of the modern sandwich. Two or more words with identical spelling but different meaning and pronunciation. There are so many bows. How about bow and arrow? Bow of a boat? Words that sound alike (and are sometimes spelled alike) but name different things. For example, die (to stop living) and dye (color). From the Greek pseud (false) and onym (name), a false name or pen name, used by an author. Mark Twain is a pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens. A place name or word that began as the name of a place, such as hamburger (from Hamburg, Germany) and afghan (a soft blanket from Afghanistan).
