Eponyms Quiz

Name:

Date:

Instructions: Discover words that come from people's names!

1.
The word 'sandwich' is named after which historical figure?
A
King George III
B
Sir Walter Raleigh
C
The Earl of Sandwich
D
Benjamin Franklin
2.
Which scientist gave their name to the unit of temperature 'Fahrenheit'?
A
Isaac Newton
B
Lord Kelvin
C
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
D
Anders Celsius
3.
The word 'pasteurize' comes from which famous scientist?
A
Alexander Fleming
B
Louis Pasteur
C
Marie Curie
D
Robert Koch
4.
Braille, the tactile writing system for the blind, is named after whom?
A
Thomas Edison
B
Louis Braille
C
Alexander Graham Bell
D
Helen Keller
5.
The word 'diesel' (as in diesel engine) comes from whom?
A
Rudolf Diesel
B
Karl Benz
C
Henry Ford
D
Gottlieb Daimler
6.
The word 'boycott' comes from a person named Captain Boycott. What was he?
A
A prison warden
B
A military general
C
A land agent in Ireland
D
A ship captain
7.
Which military leader's name gave us the word 'sideburns'?
A
Stonewall Jackson
B
Ulysses S. Grant
C
Robert E. Lee
D
Ambrose Burnside
8.
The word 'saxophone' is named after which person?
A
John Philip Sousa
B
Wolfgang Mozart
C
Johann Sebastian Bach
D
Adolphe Sax
9.
The word 'nicotine' is derived from whose name?
A
Christopher Columbus
B
Francis Drake
C
Jean Nicot
D
Sir Walter Raleigh
10.
The leotard garment is named after whom?
A
A gymnast
B
A ballet dancer
C
A fashion designer
D
A French acrobat
11.
The word 'shrapnel' is named after which person?
A
Private James Shrapnel
B
General Henry Shrapnel
C
Admiral Shrapnel
D
Dr. William Shrapnel
12.
The word 'maverick' (meaning independent-minded person) comes from whom?
A
A rebellious politician
B
A Texas rancher who didn't brand his cattle
C
A Wild West outlaw
D
A pirate captain
13.
The word 'cardigan' (the sweater) is named after whom?
A
A Welsh town
B
A Scottish textile maker
C
The 7th Earl of Cardigan
D
Queen Victoria's tailor
14.
The word 'mesmerize' comes from which historical figure?
A
Ivan Pavlov
B
Franz Mesmer
C
Sigmund Freud
D
Carl Jung
15.
The word 'dunce' (meaning a slow learner) ironically comes from the name of whom?
A
A court jester
B
A brilliant medieval scholar
C
A fictional character
D
A notorious criminal

Answer Key

Question 1

C. The Earl of Sandwich

The sandwich is named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). Legend has it he asked for meat between two slices of bread so he could eat without leaving the card table.

Question 2

C. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) was a Polish-German physicist who invented the mercury thermometer and developed the Fahrenheit temperature scale.

Question 3

B. Louis Pasteur

Pasteurization is named after French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), who developed the process of heating liquids to kill harmful bacteria, making milk and other beverages safer to drink.

Question 4

B. Louis Braille

Braille is named after Louis Braille (1809-1852), a Frenchman who lost his sight as a child and developed the raised-dot reading and writing system at age 15.

Question 5

A. Rudolf Diesel

The diesel engine is named after Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), a German engineer who invented a more efficient internal combustion engine that used compression ignition rather than spark plugs.

Question 6

C. A land agent in Ireland

Captain Charles Boycott (1832-1897) was a land agent in Ireland whose tenants refused to deal with him in 1880 over unfair rents. Their organized shunning of him gave English the word 'boycott.'

Question 7

D. Ambrose Burnside

Sideburns are named after American Civil War General Ambrose Burnside (1824-1881), who wore distinctive thick strips of facial hair. Originally called 'burnsides,' the syllables were later reversed.

Question 8

D. Adolphe Sax

The saxophone was invented by and named after Adolphe Sax (1814-1894), a Belgian instrument maker who patented the instrument in 1846.

Question 9

C. Jean Nicot

Nicotine is named after Jean Nicot (1530-1604), the French ambassador to Portugal who introduced tobacco to the French court and promoted it as a medicine.

Question 10

D. A French acrobat

The leotard is named after Jules Leotard (1838-1870), a French acrobat and trapeze artist who developed the one-piece, skin-tight garment to give himself more freedom of movement during performances.

Question 11

B. General Henry Shrapnel

Shrapnel is named after General Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), a British Army officer who invented an artillery shell designed to burst in mid-air and scatter metal fragments over a wide area.

Question 12

B. A Texas rancher who didn't brand his cattle

Maverick comes from Samuel Maverick (1803-1870), a Texas rancher who refused to brand his cattle. His unbranded calves became known as 'mavericks,' and the word came to mean anyone who goes their own way.

Question 13

C. The 7th Earl of Cardigan

The cardigan is named after James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797-1868), who led the Charge of the Light Brigade. He reportedly wore a knitted waistcoat to keep warm during the Crimean War.

Question 14

B. Franz Mesmer

Mesmerize comes from Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), a German physician who believed in 'animal magnetism' — that an invisible force could be used to heal. His techniques were a precursor to hypnosis.

Question 15

B. A brilliant medieval scholar

Dunce comes from John Duns Scotus (1266-1308), a brilliant medieval theologian and philosopher. When his followers resisted new ideas during the Renaissance, they were mockingly called 'Dunses' or 'dunces.'

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