(#7) watt's in a name 🥑

Where does the word “boycott” come from?

It has nothing to do with boys, or cots, or cottage cheese or anything else.

Charles C. Boycott was an Irish landlord whose tenant farmers refused to work for him until he lowered their rent. They eventually drove him out of town.

And thus the boycott was born.

Other fun eponyms I discovered:

Silhouette, named after a French finance minister whose heavy taxes led to the popularity of cheap paper profile cutouts over expensive portraits.

Bobby, an informal term for British police officers named after a British prime minister who reformed criminal law in the 1800’s. I prefer to think there was a surplus of Roberts in the police roster.

Bluetooth, named after the Viking leader Harald Bluetooth who unified parts of Norway and Denmark over a thousand years ago. (The wireless technology isn’t actually Bluetooth, it’s “Bluetooth’s monster.”)

Dunce—now this one is interesting:

• John Duns Scotus was a French philosopher.

• His followers became known as Dunsmen or Duns, and they often wore pointed hats because “Scotus thought they would act as a funnel for knowledge.”

• When the Renaissance came along, those pointy hats became synonymous with idiocy, and “dunce” became associated with foolishness and misbehaving.

Maybe you’re thinking, “This isn’t that interesting.”

Maybe I’m just a word nerd.

And that’s probably the kind of editor you want for your next story.

I’m offering a 10% copyediting discount for projects in April and May.

>Are you ready to elevate your manuscript?<

And let me know: what are your favorite epoynms?

Got questions about right writing rites? Reply to this email with your query; I might include it in a future Bite.

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