the list of 9 for july 26, 2006:
NINE COMMON WORDS NAMED AFTER FRENCH PEOPLE
I had hoped to post this list on some relevant date like Bastille Day, but missed that. AndFrance didn't win the World Cup this year either. So this is a truly random list that I'm puttingup for no good reason - other than that I was recently thinking of eponyms - words named afteractual people (such as mesmerize and shrapnel) and noticed that several wereinspired by famous Frenchmen. This made for a slightly more cohesive list.
- Pasteurization. You always see the word "pasteurized" onbottles of milk and wine, and you can thank chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) for coming up with away to keep these products from going sour so quickly, among his many other achievements.
- Braille. The blind scholar Louis Braille (1809-1852)invented this raised-bump style of printing so that similarly afflicted people would be able toread books with their fingers - and write, too.
- Leotard. Circus acrobat Jules Léotard (1839-1870) madefamous this skintight one-piece outfit, used by ballerinas, gymnasts and aerobics instructors eversince.
- Guillotine. Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814) didnot invent the guillotine, but proposed the use of the mechanical device to carry out deathpenalties in France. Ironically, Guillotin was against capital punishment, and offered this as themost "humane" way to execute someone, if it had to be done. (The story that Guillotin himself waslater killed this way is just a myth.)
- Sadism. This common word (though perhaps "sadistic" isits more often used derivation) comes from the formal title of the infamous libertine writerDonatien Alphonse François (1740-1814) - that is, the Marquis de Sade.
- Praline. Southerners - especially those from New Orleans-know pralines as supersweet sugar-and-cream-coated pecan patties. Elsewhere the word means a nuttypowder that fills chocolate candies. And of course praline crunch ice cream remains a favoritearound the country. In any event, the name comes from French soldier/diplomat Marshal duPlessis-Praslin (1598-1675). It's said that his cook Clément Lassagne invented the originalsugar-coated almond confections. (Why these confections are not called "Lassagnes" may have to dowith that word potentially being confused with "lasagne" - which Lassagne did not invent.)
- Clementine. A popular tangerine-like fruit available atmost supermarkets, the clementine got its name in 1902 from either Pierre Clément, a Frenchpriest living in Algeria, or Father Clément Rodier, who ran an orphanage in Algeria. Theworld may never know. But in any event, one of these two men discovered this "accidental" hybridbetween a mandarin and a regular orange in Algeria's arid climes, and gave his name to it.
- Silhouette. Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767) wasfinance minister under Louis XV. In his retirement, he practiced the art of cutting out paper inthe shape of friends' profiles - which were later called, of course, silhouettes.
- Saxophone. I am cheating slightly, as this musicalinstrument's designer Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) was born and raised in Belgium. But he built hiseponymous instrument after relocating permanently to Paris, he is buried in Paris, and I'm surethe French would be proud to claim the inventor of the saxophone as one of their own.
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