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Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

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Re: Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

#181

Post by masklinn »

rob74 wrote: post #154
msiemens wrote: post #127

A few German companies: - Aldi (supermarket chain), founded by the Albrecht brothers, thus AL brecht DI skont - Adidas, founded by AD olf DAS sler - Mercedes-Benz, named by Emil Jellinek-Mercedes after his daughter Mercedes, initially with Daimler which then merged with Benz - Audi, founded by August Horch. Initially founded as _A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke Zwickau_, he later lost the rights to the name "Horch". H…

I sometimes feel that German founders are too stuck on naming their company after themself, some of them really should have looked for alternatives, e.g. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppelfricke

It’s generally the result of them starting as personal or family businesses, so initially your brand is your name. Then the business grows so large the relationship inverts. It does not have much to do with germany really, it’s common the world over.

For example, just from US car brand, you obviously have Ford, but also Olds (Ransom E.), Chevrolet (Louis and Arthur), Buick (David), Chrystler (Walter), Dodge (Horace Elgin and John Francis), …

And I can’t fault a German industrialist from 1910 for not English-proofing his business.

Re: Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

#186

Post by Gare »

lb1lf wrote: post #165
saithound wrote: post #62

The generic Hungarian word for trash cans, 'kuka', unexpectedly originates from the names of German industrialists Johann Josef Keller and Jakob Knappich. The story is quite involved, to the extent that one would be tempted to dismiss it as a folk etymology, if it wasn't ridiculously well-attested. Keller and Knappich founded an acetylene factory in Augsburg, Bavaria in 1898. They named it Keller und Knappich Augsbur…

Incidentally, 'kuk' is a Norwegian word, a somewhat pejorative synonym for 'penis', but almost as versatile as the four-letter word - it can be used as an adjective, a verb, an adverb, a noun etc. Saying that 'something is kuka/kuket' means it is messed up beyond repair. Even as I approach my fifties, I have to stifle a chuckle every time I see a KUKA robot. Kids never really grow up, I guess. As for things named aft…

Kuka in Croatian means "hook" so at least their robotic arms are somewhat aptly named.

Re: Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

#188

Post by defrost »

thih9 wrote: post #177
mkl wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" Unexpectedly named after people". Erlang seems to be short for for Ericsson Language, Elo is often misspelled ELO as if it stands for something. Shrapnel is less unexpected.

Saxophone is just as unexpected, other -phone musical terms, like vibraphone, idiophone, membranophone, come with a prefix unrelated to people. Sadism and masochism - perhaps less unexpected, but no less than shrapnel IMO.

Santorum literally screams eponymous neologism.

Re: Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

#189

Post by unwind »

Rygian wrote: post #122
JKCalhoun wrote: post #48

You might think Morgan Hill, California was named because of a prominent feature of the landscape. Nope, named after a guy named Morgan Hill. (And the hill you see in Morgan Hill, CA is actually named El Toro — the Spanish word for "lawnmower". Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here for one more night.)

What is the relationship between the word "toro" (bull in Spanish) and lawnmowers?

This site [1] claims to be a Spanish dictionary and it doesn't agree, it claims the word is "la cortadora de césped".

I guess it's possible that the word has become a generic trademark [2] like Kleenex, since of course (?) Toro [3] is a brand of lawnmowers and other equipment.

Edit: switching Toro's site to Spanish [4] shows that they at least use the term consistent with [1], which seems to add credibility. :)

[1]: https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/lawnmower

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark

[3]: https://www.toro.com/en

[4]: https://www.toro.com/es-es/homeowner/walk-behind-mowers

Re: Things unexpectedly named after people (2020)

#190

Post by [deleted] »

msiemens wrote: post #127

A few German companies: - Aldi (supermarket chain), founded by the Albrecht brothers, thus AL brecht DI skont - Adidas, founded by AD olf DAS sler - Mercedes-Benz, named by Emil Jellinek-Mercedes after his daughter Mercedes, initially with Daimler which then merged with Benz - Audi, founded by August Horch. Initially founded as _A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke Zwickau_, he later lost the rights to the name "Horch". H…

[deleted]
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