I am to introduce a physician to an audience with the name of Dr. Leech. Now, my husband tells me that physician and leech used to be synonymous, and this site seems to validate that.

What would you call that? Tsuwm's WWFTD online dictionary defines aptronyms as a name that is aptly suited to its owner. So, leech really isn't an aptronym is it (though it may be for a lawyer )? Is there a word for 2 names that are synonymous, or are they just synonyms?

I find an interesting etymology, more jocular than learned: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=137467&tocid=0&query=patronym&ct=

We might use it for Dr. Leech. We might also more directly know of a Dr. Doctor, etc.

RJA

at my wife Kalleh! At this spot, before Robert's time, we discussed whether the term you mention should be aptonym, as suggested by tinman and by others before him. We don't put an "r" in homonym or synonym, so why put one in aptonym?

But to me, an aptonym is where the surname is an appropriate ("apt") adjective; in the case of your doctor, it is a synonym. I believe pleonasm is the term for that.

The term aptronym was allegedly coined by the American newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams, by an anagrammatic reordering of the first letters of patRonym (to suggest apt) to denote…

(from the Encyclopædia Britannica online - see link above)


To err is human; to forgive, infrequent.
- Franklin P. Adams

Shu, putting "aptronym" into Google gives you 4 references (Grandiloquent Online, Forthrights Phrontistery - Dictionary of Obscure Words, Luciferous Logolepsy, and Tsuwm's WWFTD) while "aptonym" comes up with "sorry, there are no dictionaries indexed..." While you think it should be "aptonym," it looks as though you have lost that battle.

I suppose "pleonasm" would work; it's much like saying doctor doctor. Yet, I thought maybe there would be a word, much like "aptronym," that applies to names only.

> putting "aptronym" into Google gives you 4 references (Grandiloquent Online, Forthrights Phrontistery - Dictionary of Obscure Words, Luciferous Logolepsy, and Tsuwm's WWFTD)

my personal view, as stated elsewhere, is that this counts for very little, as those guys ste.. er.. borrow flagrantly and/or egregiously from one another; and ultimately from Mrs. Byrne and other accesible sources. ( : but however, getting into the Encyclopaedia Britannica *does carry some weight.)

I merely wanted to make the point (for tinman(?) and others from the other thread) that the "r" wasn't just shoved in there willy-nilly -- there seems to have been a reason for it.

[This message was edited by tsuwm on Thu Feb 5th, 2004 at 10:54.]

Thanks, tsuwm.

Kalleh, I wouldn't have made or referenced the original comment, on aptonyms, without checking one-look. tsuwm has made it clear why the items cited there are not, on this point, dispositive. In all likelihood all but one represent diligent cribbing, and there's no evidence that any of the compilers considered the alternative form.

Unless one is perscriptivist, one has to admit that if one form or the other achieves dominance and acceptance, then it has become by usage the "correct" form. However, at this point neither form has achieved that dominance, so it's fair game to argue that one makes more sense. Each form was coined quite some time ago; each has been used repeatedly, and neither seems to have supplanted the other.

And of course, as tsuwm notes, Adams coined aptronym by reference to patronym -- but the root of the latter (patri-) has an "r", while the root of the former (apt) does not.

nuts, let's just agree to call it "nominative determinism" and be done with it.

Since pleonasm indicates using more words than are necessary, and tautologyindicates useless repetition, neither seem to precisely fit the definition of an aptronym. Maybe a pleonaptrotautolism?

Well, the introduction is over, and I didn't use the reference, since, you are right, Asa, nothing really works. Still, I was surprised to see that "leech" used to be another term for "physician." I assume that came from the treatments they used to use with leeches?

Retrieving this one from wa-a-a-a-a-y back in the closet, I came upon this thread while doing some OEDILF research on the "aptronym/aptonym" debate.

Just thought I'd mention, Kalleh, that only last week I heard a brief story on NPR about some major university (sorry, don't recall which one) which is now offering courses on the proper use of leeches during surgical procedures. Even though it's all legitimate and totally on the up and up, the thought makes my skin crawl.

quote:

Originally posted by tsuwm:
I merely wanted to make the point (for tinman(?) and others from the other thread) that the "r" wasn't just shoved in there willy-nilly -- there seems to have been a reason for it.

Museamuse suggested (September 09, 2002) it might be an "intrusive r."

Tinman

Interesting, Tinman. (Can you believe we've been here since 2002?!)

I wonder if that is related at all to those who add an "r" when pronouncing words ending with "a," such as pronouncing "idea" as "idear."

quote:

he proper use of leeches

My wife assures me that she had to learn how to use leeches when she was training to be a nurse at Barts. I don't know whether they are still a standard part of UK medicine now, though.

It reminds me of how every few years an article appears on how medics are redicovering the use of maggots to help clear up infected wounds, since they eat dead/diseased/decaying flesh but apparently leave the healthy stuff alone.

I'd go for it if it meant not having to succumb to antibiotic overload, but I have wondered what it would feel like...

quote:

My wife assures me that she had to learn how to use leeches when she was training to be a nurse at Barts. I don't know whether they are still a standard part of UK medicine now, though.

Wow...I have not heard of that here. I thought it was from the 18th century or something!

Yes, I have heard of the maggots, just for the reason you say, Cat. I recall a lawsuit here where a physician used that treatment on a man's leg, and the man sued because of the stress it caused him. We may have even posted about that here.

quote:

Wow...I have not heard of that here. I thought it was from the 18th century or something!

I assume it's because, should you need to remove blood for any reason, its a simple and painless way to do it. Plus there's less trauma than there would be with a needle and tube.

Leach bites are more or less painless and, once the leach has drunk its fill, it simply drops off leaving a very small wound that quickly heals.

Like maggot therapy it's an old technique but, as I say, I don't know whether it's now used.

The Seattle Times, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today all have articles about the current use of maggots and leeches in medicine. A parasitic worm, Trichuris suis, has been used in the treatment of Crohn's disease, and is "being explored as a possible therapy for multiple sclerosis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and other immune diseases." And some people claim that allowing honeybees to repeatedly sting them (Bee Venom Therapy- BVT) provides relief from "from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and tendonitis."

Tinman

Thanks, Tinman, and with your 1300th post, too!

Reviving a thread...

Speaking of apt(r)onyms, here is a link that Asa sent me (he can't cut and paste). I think I will avoid that gastroenterologist in the middle!

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
... that Asa sent me (he can't cut and paste).

He already explained that he can't cut and paste because he never went to kindergarten. He did learn how to cut out pasties, though!

Tinman

I stumbled across this:

quote:

Aptronym is a word coined by Franklin P. Adams for a name that is aptly suited to its owner. In other words, an aptronym is a name that fits real good. Collecting aptronyms is generally good fun but gets a bit unnerving when you run into those which are horrifyingly apt: Will Drop, a Montreal window cleaner who died in a fall; and Willburn and Frizzel, who on the grim morning of October 6, 1941, went to the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.

Tinman

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Reviving a thread...

Speaking of apt(r)onyms, here is a link that Asa sent me (he can't cut and paste). I think I will avoid that gastroenterologist in the middle!

If you study the sign a little more carefully I'm sure you'll agree that it's a spoof. The other two names, while maybe not as obvious, are still quite phoney.

How can you be sure it's a fake?

The Funny Signs website invites its readers to, "...Just send us your photos of funny, stupid, dumb, idiotic, misshapen, twisted, real, and fake roadsigns, storefronts, warning, and advertising signs..."

No requirement that they conform to any specific category and this might be one of the true ones; clearly many of those posted are.

I can't but let's see now...

Big Ass Annie

Anal Ram

Hell Stern

There are several notorious sign spoofs kicking around on the internet. I'm inclined to add this one to the list.

Real or not, I find it hilarious. I'd definitely consider using the name in an exam about gastroenterology disorders.

quote:

I can't but let's see now...

Big Ass Annie

Anal Ram

Hell Stern

I agree that the names seem funny but that doesn't mean the they are necessarily spoofs. I have seen many names on foreign signs that are funny in UK English.

If it is a spoof then someone would need to have taken a great deal of care to forge the names on the nameplate - and that shows no evidence of having been altered that I can spot.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard English:

quote:

I can't but let's see now...

Big Ass Annie

Anal Ram

Hell Stern

I agree that the names seem funny but that doesn't mean the they are necessarily spoofs. I have seen many names on foreign signs that are funny in UK English.

If it is a spoof then someone would need to have taken a great deal of care to forge the names on the nameplate - and that shows no evidence of having been altered that I can spot.

Dear oh dear, Richard. Have you never heard of photoshop?

There is a very famous picture of some painters who have painted the word "SHCOOL" in the road. It's also a well known spoof. The picture has been cleverly (and invisibly) photoshopped.

Another famous sequence shows a car allegedly running off the quay and the tow truck trying to pull it out also falling in and the larger tow truck trying to pull that out also falling in. Very convincing until you realise that elements of the background don't vary from shot to shot.
You can see plenty more of them with the appropriate debunkings over at [URL=http://www.snopes.com/photos/photos.asp]snopes picture section[/URL. Most of them look convincing enough at first glance.

As for the names, any one of them would be plausible. All three on that sign? I think not. You are of course free to disagree but while I'm on the subject I have this bridge I'm trying to sell. Are you interested?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,

quote:

Dear oh dear, Richard. Have you never heard of photoshop?

Oh yes. And I use such photoediting tools regularly. All I am saying is that it's usually possible to see evidence of alterations, especially when the original picture is a photograph with a textured background.

And I have also seen the spoofs you mention and, as you say, once you look hard you can see the alterations or discrepancies.

I imagine we'll never know the truth.

quote:

Originally posted by tsuwm:
nuts, let's just agree to call it "nominative determinism" and be done with it.

I agree. But there are alternatives, some pointed out already in this correspondence.
Franklin P. Adams a famous newspaper columnist called them "aptronyms." James Taranto, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal calls the phenomenon "eponymy." Tom Stoppard (in his play, Jumpers) calls it "cognomen syndrome." In its "Frontiers" column, the British magazine New Scientist called it "nominative determinism." And, Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post calls them "aptonyms."

Back in early February of 2004 we talked about this a bit, comparing aptonym with a-term-I-despise-because-it-inserts-a-groundless-r-into-the-word. Nonetheless, that form-of-bastard-ancestry seems to have prevailed. It has 10,000 ghits, about 20 times as many as the pure and pristine aptonym.

Ah well! Apparently it's good enough for David Crystal, so I suppose it's good enough for me.

Interestingly, while plenty of sources claim that Franklin P. Adams coined this term, I've never been able to find any writing of his doing so.

Welcome to our forum, Pearce!
We'd love to see some more of your posts.

I knew I loved the Washington Post! I think the word really is "aptonym," though someone along the way misspelled it, and it got carried on that way...much like an egg corn. But that's just a theory. I will never know.

aptronym

I always assumed it was a contraction of apteronym (fr. apteros 'unfledged, unwinged'). As a sort of mumblenym of the formulaic epea pteroenta 'winged words' in Homer.

But seriously, I supposed it's one of those mixed Graeco-Latinate hybrid words: Latin aptus 'fitted, suitable' fr. apo 'to fasten, attach, bind, tie' (cf. apta pinnis 'furnished with wings, winged').

from the better late then never dept...

aptronym vs. aptonym? Washington Post??
Gene Weingarten: Oh, and I never claimed to have invented "aptonym." I didn't. It long precedes me. Some years ago, I did get into an email debate with Safire on aptonym v. aptronym, to the satisfaction of neither of us.

Well, Tsuwm...long time, no see. We've missed you!

Reviving a thread...
Two aptronyms came up recently:

1) I as at a conference where we were analyzing caselets, and the mean and hateful physician (BTW, this was a conference for physicians) was named: Dr. Rottweiler.

2) Chicago Tribune article about the ice and snow on the sidewalks being treacherous for people who walk (especially the elderly and physically impaired): "[Ben] Helphand is coordinating a sidewalk snow-shoveling campaign in the Logan Square neighborhood where he lives." I kid you not. This community advocate (as the Tribune said of him) is actually named Mr. Helphand! I couldn't have made up a better name!

quote:

caselets

Wossa caselet? A little case? I can't find it in Onelook.

I chuckled, Arnie, when I wrote "caselet" because I knew someone would ask about it.

It was the first I'd heard the word used, and it seemed to refer to abbreviated cases. I would have called them cases, though.

quote:

Wossa caselet? A little case? I can't find it in Onelook.

For what it's worth, you'll find it discussed in this interesting article, which says:

Caselets, or short cases, are increasingly used as teaching aids, both in B-Schools and in executive education programs. Being brief and focused on a specific topic, a caselet is a useful supplement to a lecture. ... A caselet is a shorter version of a case study, generally two to three pages in length.

OIC. Then presumably this caselet was a made-up example, so the doctor's name was made-up too. I hardly think it applies as an aptronym.

I've never heard the word "aptronym" before today. Can hardly wait to bowl all my friends over with that one!

Especially like the Dr. Rottweiler example.

WM

Arnie, we have talked about aptronyms that I had developed for my students' exams before; this is just another example. All the caselets were true, though the names were changed to protect the innocent.

Dear Abby had a column about aptronyms (though she didn't call them that). Here were some of my favorites:

~ Plastic surgeon named Dr. Hacker, and his resident was Dr. Wacker

~ (my personal favorite) A man went to get a vasectomy from a Dr. D. Nutter

~ Dental hygienist by the name of Mrs. Toothacher

~ Practicing physcician named Dr. Kill

~ Psychiatrist named Dr. Looney

Arnie will be relieved to know that these are all real people. Dr. D. Nutter who does vasectomies??? I wish I were still writing exams for students!

Remember Ronald Reagan's press secretary?
I saw him quoted somewhere this week and thought immediately of this thread.
Newspapers used to love to refer to him as White House Spokesman Larry Speaks."

Oh that's right!

I have been reviewing my weight loss book (the holidays have not been easy!), and it was Shu who realized the aptronym. It was written by a very famous expert on weight loss: Dr. Art Ulene.

William Headline. A journalist, Headline was a longtime CBS news executive until he quit in 1983 to help a fledgling new network get better established: CNN.
From This Is True website today.

Does the bicycle repair shop have a spokesman ?

Only if the navy has an anchorman.
I was wondering, is the receptionist at the doctor's office who decides who gets in to see the doctor an inturnist?

Can the ophthalmologist see me now ?

I'm going to the chiropodist to see if anything is afoot.