Wow, thanks, I'd always wondered where that came from. Couldn't figure out the connection to ancient Greece!
Not all eponymous words are capitalized though. See aphrodisiac, badminton, berserk, boycott, boysenberry, brodie, cardigan, chauvinist, condom, doily, dunce, fedora... (can you tell I have a Dictionary of Eponyms?) I'm not sure if there's a rule, but it seems to me that the closer a word is associated to the person, the more likely it is to be capitalized.
Mark Bulgier Seattle, Wa USA
...luddite, maverick, malapropism, meander, mesmerize, morphine, nemesis...
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Philcycles@aol.com [mailto:Philcycles@aol.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 2:51 PM
> To: bulger@erim-int.com; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR] Little known builders
>
>
>
> In a message dated 6/12/01 1:02:07 PM, bulger@erim-int.com writes:
>
> << Does anyone know what happened to the green Bartlett
> touring bike with
> hellenic stays that hung from the ceiling of American Cyclery about
> twenty years ago? >>
>
> Hellenic should be capitalized as it derives from a proper name, Fred
> Hellens, an English frame builder.
> Phil Brown