A PLEA FOR A NEW WORD.
iTO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR." J
Sin,—For a long time I have been hunting for a word, and, along with others, have come to the conclusion that the word does not exist. Before giving up the quest I have had it suggested to me that I should ask you if any of your readers may happen to know if the necessary word has been coined yet, and if not, that through your columns the proper word might first be made public. The word desired is one that will express the ever-increasing class of words that are named after some individual,—e.g., "boycott," "macadamise," "doily," "mackintosh," " gamp," "peeler," "Robert," "Bobby," " Whitehead " (for a torpedo), &c., &c. Such words should be classified under a name by themselves. What should this word be P " Cognominals " has been suggested to me. A cognomen, however, is a surname, and such words are not always taken from the person's surname,—" Bobby," for example, to indicate a policeman. " Onomataneric " and " aneronomatic " have also been suggested; but dm+) is a man, not a woman, and therefore would not include " gamp " or ",Mrs. Grundy." No exception can be taken to the term " anthroponomatic " so far as accuracy of description is con- cerned; but it is a terribly long word, and an apt short word is a desideratum. I trust that the finding of the necessary word may be of interest to some of your readers.—I am, Sir, &c., [We trust that if any of our readers reply, it will be with the word alone, and not with a disquisition on the subject, for which we cannot possibly find space.—ED. Spectator.]
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