A Pilgrim’s Digression

Eponymous must be one of the most misused words in the English language. Many people use it; few know what it means. Its root is the noun eponym.

Epoynm: A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country, or era. For example, Romulus is the eponym of Rome.

William F. Buckley uses the word correctly in his autobiography, Miles Gone By:

“…when I sail in the Caribbean, I go on what we call “Buckley Watch Time,” the only eponymous enterprise I have ever engaged in.”

Thus rock bands are aways engaging in eponymous enterprises, e.g., Black Sabbath released it’s first album under the title “Black Sabbath.”

Recently, I read the following in a Washington Post review of the movie I, Robot:

Asimov purists looking for a faithful visualization of the seminal 1950s sci-fi parables should check such expectations at the multiplex door. “I, Robot” doesn’t do for the eponymous book what “Blade Runner” did for Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”

Correct usage? What do you think?