Learning English

Adjectives from names you might not know are names

In 6 Minute Grammar you heard about adjectives that come from names, adjectives like Victorian and Dickensian.

These are called eponymous adjectives and there are many of them in English. There are some common eponymous adjectives that you might not realise come from names because those names are from a long time ago in history or literature.

Of course, you could work out the origin of this one:

• His life was a Shakespearean tragedy.

The name there is Shakespeare, the English playwright from the Elizabethan period.

That was an easy one, but do you know the names behind these adjectives? And what about the meanings?

• herculean
• chauvinistic
• mercurial
• narcissistic
• platonic
• martial

See how much you know below!

อ่านเนื้อหาพร้อมทำแบบฝีกหัด

Where do they come from and what do they mean?

Herculean: from Hercules, the mythical character from Greek and Roman mythology. Hercules had great strength and that is the quality in the eponymous adjective.

• Bringing up a family all by yourself is a herculean task.

Chauvinistic: from Nicholas Chauvin, an extremely patriotic, possibly fictional, French soldier from Napoleonic times. The adjective now refers mostly to men who have a prejudiced attitude towards women.

• He's so chauvinistic. hH never lets his wife drive. He says women can't drive and should stay in the kitchen. What an idiot!

Mercurial: from Mercury, the Roman god. Today's meaning refers to someone or something that is unpredictable and often changing.

• He's a mercurial talent, which makes him very difficult to work with.
  
  

Narcissistic: from Narcissus, a character from Greek mythology who was so in love with his own reflection in a pool that he drowned. Today it refers to people who are obessed with themselves and their physical appearance.

•  I can't believe how narcissitic he is. He spends hours in the gym, not working out but mostly looking at himself in the mirrors.
  
  

Platonic: From Plato the Greek philosopher. He wrote about many things including the idea of a love between people that was not romantic or physical. This is close to today's meaning where it usually refers to close friendships that are not sexual.

• We have a purely platonic friendship. She's someone I can really talk to and I wouldn't want to ruin it by getting involved intimately.

Martial: from Mars, the Roman god of war. We use this adjective today to mean something relating to war and fighting.

• I took up martial arts when I was a teenager and got into the national team a few years later.

To do

In the quiz see if you can choose the right adjective for each situation.

Next

Well done. In the next activity, you'll learn some adjectives which come form artists' names.