The English language, spoken by so many people all over the world, is constantly changing. Many new words entering the language are derived from the names of actual persons. Robert Hendrickson has compiled a fascinating, unexpurgated collection of these and of the stories behind them. Webster's defines an eponym as "a real or mythical person from whose name the name of a nation, institution, thing, etc., is derived or is said to have been derived." The author not only treats familiar eponymous words such as bowdlerize, cardigan, guillotine, quisling, sadism and sideburns; he also tells in depth the stories behind such human words as Beau Brummell, bigot, Bluebeard, bloomers, booze, corduroy, ratfink, French leave, gerrymander, hooligan, jumbo, and thousands more. In all, 3000 to 3500 eponyms are covered, this being probably the only work extant that deals to a large extent exclusively with real, non-mythical eponyms. Students or laymen, experts or casual readers will each find something new, exciting and humorous in this world of words.--From publisher description.