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September 2007Language LinksAfter pundit Bill O'Reilly cautioned viewers not to be Pecksniffian in their comments, the adjective Pecksniffian rose in the rankings of the most looked-up words. Those looking for the origin of the word learned that it came from the name of a character, Seth Pecksniff, in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. If you're interested in other words based on names of people or characters, try these sites. If you're curious about other terms that come from names of characters, try the quiz at Funtrivia.com: www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/humanities/english/etymology.html. Interested in other eponyms? Check out www.whonamedit.com, a survey of medical eponyms and the people behind them. |