1. Local proper nouns
Rugby was originally a British place name, where there is a school Rugby School, which is famous for playing rugby. Rugby in lowercase later refers to "rugby" or "rugby play".
Copper originated from Cyprus, which is famous for producing copper.
In English, many commodity names are originally place names of the place of origin. For example, java comes from the place name Java (Java Island) in Indonesia, which means "Java Coffee"; Cologne comes from the city of Cologne in West Germany, which means "eau de cologne"; Bourbon comes from Bourbon, Kentucky, USA, which means "a strong whisky". Other common words from local proper nouns to common nouns are as follows:
china China China Porcelain
ollywood Hollywood (the center of American film industry; Part of Los Angeles)
hollywood (made by Hollywood) American film; American film industry; American film industry
Mecca (a pilgrimage site for Muslims, in western Saudi Arabia)
mecca's pilgrimage site; A place eager to go; The desired goal.
nankeen (a durable) plain cloth (originally from Nanjing, China)
Panama Panama (city)
panama (style) straw hat
Shanghai
Pudong Chicken (produced in Shanghai)
White House; U.S. government
Russia
russia leather
scotch scotch whisky
Waterloo Waterloo (Belgian town) (where Napoleon's army was defeated in 1815)
waterloo fiasco; A fatal blow; Decisive setback
Japan Japan
japan Japanese paint; (collectively) Japanese porcelain
Pearl Harbor (US military port); Attack on Broadway (one of the main streets in new york, USA, because many theaters and nightclubs are located in this story, the street name stands for "American theater industry", "new york entertainment industry" and "new york nightlife", etc.)
2. Proper nouns of names
(1) The original inventor's name is changed to the invention's name.
watt originated from British scientist James watt；; Volt originated from Italian scientist < P > Alessandro Vota; Ohm (ohm) originated from the German scientist Georg Ohm；; Ampere (Ampere) originated from French scientist Andre Ampere；; Hertz (hertz) originated from the German physicist H.R Hertz；; Pasteurize comes from Louis Pasteur, a famous French chemist and biologist.
(2) A person became famous for creating or discovering something, and later became a common noun
sandwich originated from Earl sandwich, who was originally from gambler. It is said that in order to save time in gambling, he asked his servant to cut bread and sandwich meat for him to satisfy his hunger, hence the name sandwich.
3) Famous figures in novels or other written works refer to ordinary people because of their obvious personality characteristics.
Friday comes from the name of Robinson's servant in the English novel Robinson Crusoe, and now it means "loyal servant". Quixote was originally the protagonist in Don Quixote's Don Quixote by Cervantes, a Spanish writer, and now it means "Don Quixote-style man", "idealist full of young thoughts" and "fanatical and narrow-minded man". Shylock, a vicious Jew who specializes in usury in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, now refers to a "extortionate moneylender" and a "ruthless (merchant) person". Uncle Tom is the protagonist in Uncle Tom's Cabin published by American woman writer Mrs. Stowe in 1852. Now it is used as "a black man who is resigned", while Uncle Tomism means "resignation". Crusoe is the protagonist in Robinson Grasoe, a novel by Defoe, a British writer. Now Crusoe refers to "a man who drifts to an uninhabited island like Robinson" and "a lonely man". Don Juan, a Spanish legend, is a dissolute aristocrat who specializes in playing with women. This figure often appears in people who signed the Declaration of Independence in the West. Now this word is used to refer to "autographed" poems and plays, and now it means "people who play with women". Romeo, a libertine, is a character in Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, and now refers to a man in love
(4) Politicians and politicians' names
nicotine comes from the name of a French diplomat, Jean Nicot, who introduced tobacco to France in the 16th century. John Hancock (1773-1793) was an American revolutionary leader. He was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. Now this word is used to mean "autograph". Quisling (traitor, head of the puppet government) originated from the Norwegian fascist leader Quisling (Gysling), who colluded with German fascists in World War II and became the head of the puppet regime after Nazi occupation. Mccarthyism originated from American senator, J.R. McCarthy (199-1957), which refers to "the reactionary proposition of persecuting American democratic and progressive forces by fascist means", also known as "McCarthyism".
(5) Names of religious, mythical and other figures
Samson is a figure in the Christian Bible. He is famous for his strength and is now used to refer to "Hercules". Titan (Titan) is a member of the legendary giants who once ruled the world in Greek gods, and now lowercase Titan is used to refer to "giants" and "giants". Venus (Venus) is the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology, which is now used to refer to "beauty". Diana (Di Anna) is the goddess of the moon and hunting in Roman mythology, which now refers to "the moon" or "Huntress". Hercules (Hercules) is the "Hercules" in Greek and Roman mythology. He is the son of Zeus, the main god, and has accomplished twelve heroic deeds. The lowercase Hercules means "Hercules, a giant." Nestor (Nestor) was a wise veteran of Greece during the Trojan War, and Nestor was a metaphor for "an old and wise leader" or "a wise old man". Oedipus (Oedipus) originated from Greek mythology. This is the Prince of Thebes, who once solved the mystery of the Sphinx. Later, he killed his father by mistake and married his mother. When he found out, he stabbed himself in the eyes and wandered and died. Now it can be used to refer to "puzzle solver". Oedipus complex refers to "Oedipus plot" in psychology. Apollo is the god in charge of light, youth, poetry, medicine, animal husbandry, etc. in Greek mythology. Now poetry refers to "the sun" or "a handsome young man".
(6) Other proper names
Plato comes from Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, and means "theoretical", "idealistic" or "pure spiritual". Platonic love or platonism means "spiritual love". Solomon, the son of King David of the Kingdom of Israel, is famous for his wisdom and now refers to "wise man" or "sage". Tom Thumb is a dwarf in English fairy tales, which now refers to "a short person or plant".
3. Proper nouns of titles or movie and TV titles
Many common English names are transformed from titles of titles or movies.
asphalt jungle was originally the name of an American film, but now it refers to a big city or a specific area of a big city. Godfather was originally the title of a novel written by Mar io puzo in 1969, and now it refers to the leader of the mafia or other secret criminal organizations. Utopia (Utopia) was originally the name of a novel written by Tomas More, and now it refers to "utopia" or "utopianism".
4. Trademark proper nouns
Many trademarks in English are often used to refer to their products because they are familiar to everyone. Common ones are Kodak (Kodak camera), Xerox (xerography, xerox machine), Ford (Ford brand car), Vaseline (vaseline petrolatum), Coco-cola (Coca-Cola beverage), Pepsi-cola (Pepsi-Cola beverage), some trademark nouns and derivatives, such as xeroxer and xeroxable. In addition, some trademark nouns can also be used as adjectives. For example, Micky Mouse means "small", "small specification" and "petty".
5. Other proper nouns
In addition to the proper nouns mentioned above, there are also many common nouns in English that have been transformed from other proper nouns. Mafia (Mafia) is a secret criminal organization in Sicily, Italy and the United States, while Mafia refers to "a secret group of political terrorists" or "a secret criminal organization engaged in illegal activities such as drug trafficking around the world". Marathon refers to the marathon running with a total length of 42.195 kilometers, and lowercase marathon refers to "the long-distance race (swimming, skating, etc.)". Nazi is party member (Nazi) of the German National Social Party, and Nazi means "fascist". Oscar was originally the Academy Award in the American film industry, and now it means "award" or "medal". Paradise (Paradise, Paradise) originated from Paradise in Eden in religion. Protestant originally refers to Protestant protestants who protested against Catholic protestants in the German Parliament in 1952, but now lowercase portestant means "protester" or "dissident". Disneyland originated from an amusement park set up by Walt Disney, an American animator, near Los Angeles. October means "wine brewed in October". Olympus (Mount Olympus) is the residence of the gods in Greece, and now it means "heaven" and "heaven". Renaissance is the Renaissance in Europe in the 14th-16th century, which now refers to the renaissance of literature and art (or literature and art, academia), and lowercase renaissance can also refer to "rebirth", "resurrection" and "revival".