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Oct 26, 2026
This week’s themeEponyms from antiquity This week’s words 
Banquet Still Life with a Parrot, Dog, and Monkey, 1644
Art: Adriaen van Utrecht Previous week’s theme Z in the spotlight Wordsmith Games
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargA philosopher, a king, a historian, a wanderer, and a god walk into a dictionary. They come out as adjectives. A word derived from someone’s name is called an eponym, from Greek epi- (upon, after) + -nym (name). How do you turn a person into an adjective? A suffix such as -an, -ian, or -ean gets you started. Time and usage do the rest. Let’s find out what happened to five names from ancient history and mythology once they entered English. A word about capitalization. For an eponym, losing its capital letter can be a badge of success. As its meaning broadens beyond the original person, it may shed its capital. Sometimes the distinction matters: Epicurean philosophy, but an epicurean meal. Among this week’s five eponyms, some retain their capitals, some go lowercase, and others can’t make up their minds. epicurean
PRONUNCIATION:
(ep-i-kyoo-REE-uhn, -KYOOR-ee-uhn)
MEANING:
adjective: Devoted to refined sensual pleasure, especially fine food and comfortable living. noun: A person with such tastes; an epicure. ETYMOLOGY:
After the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE). Earliest documented use: c. 1400.
NOTES:
Epicurus advocated simple pleasures, friendship, freedom from bodily pain, and
peace of mind (ataraxia).
Today, epicurean suggests luxurious living, especially fine dining. No
philosopher in history has had his lunch order more thoroughly misunderstood.
USAGE:
“Mr Lam also has an epicurean streak. ... [He] was captured on video
being fed a steak wrapped in gold leaf.” Vietnam’s New Ruler: Hardman, Capitalist, Hedonist; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 24, 2024. See more usage examples of epicurean in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first
freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to
dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree." We
must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our
educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among
us we elect president. -Natalie Merchant, singer-songwriter (b. 26 Oct
1963)
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