atw: Re: On the tip of my tongue...

Would "eponymize" do?

JH



On 08 Feb 2006, at 11:56 AM, Michael Granat wrote:

Hi Garry (S)

I don't know if its actually a process but, rather, the case of the name of
a widely accepted product (usually the first of its kind and perhaps in
common usage) becoming the accepted term for something in common
spoken language. It can also be a matter of noun-verbing as it converts
a name to an action.

Another prevalent, Australia-specific example, is how "Claytons" has
slipped into our language, as the generic term for a not quite right
substitution, from a 1970s ad campaign for a non-alcoholic mixer
product that nobody would be seen dead drinking, thanks to its catch cry
line of "The drink you have, when you're not having a drink".

How's that for a Claytons answer?

HTH.

Cheers,

Michael Granat
Write Ideas
www.writeideas.com.au

At 09:32 8/02/2006, you wrote: 
Hi All:

As a change from the weighty matters afflicting the list these days, I've been asked: "What is the name of the process by which a proprietary name comes to stand for the whole?" eg to hoover, to google, to buy kleenex (any sort of tissue)

Garry

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