• 1. Leotard

    Named after its inventor, Jules Léotard.

  • 2. Boycott

    Named after Charles Boycott, a 19th century English army captain who was ostracized from his native Ireland after refusing to lower rents.

  • 3. Nicotine

    From the French ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot, who promoted the use of tabacco for medicinal purposes.

  • 4. Sideburns

    A rearranging of the Civil War general Ambrose Burnside’s name. I don’t know, I don’t get this one.

  • 5. Diesel

    From the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel.

  • 6. Panic

    Derives from the Greek God Pan, who would often find “amusement from frightening herds of goats and sheep into sudden bursts of uncontrollable fear.”

  • 7. Silhouette

    Comes from the French finance minister Étienne de Silhouette, who after the Seven Years War (in 1759) imposed “high economic demands” on the French people. Her name became associated with “anything done cheaply,” and as was custom at the time, the cheapest way to record a persons appearance was to make an outline.

  • 8. Lynch

    Named after Charles Lynch, who was in charge of a court whose purpose was to punish loyalists during the American Revolution.

  • 9. Shrapnel

    Named after Henry Shrapnel, who invented the anti-personel weapon in the 19th century.

  • 10. Booze

    The slang term became popular as a result of E.G. Booz, a man who sold whiskey in of log cabin shaped bottles.

  • 11. Comma

    Domenico de Comma wanted to make the bible more accesible to readers, so he invented the comma. The, rest is, history.

  • 12. Bloomers

    Named after feminist Amelia Jenks Bloomer who strongly advocated the use of bloomers.

  • 13. Bluetooth

    Comes from the epithet of Harald I of Denmark (Harald Bluetooth) who united the tribes of Denmark into one kingdom.

  • 14. Zamboni

    Not actually a fancy Italian word at all, instead named after Californian Frank Zamboni.

  • 15. Sadism & Masochism

    Comes from two different men, The Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher Masoch. The first man, Mariquis de Sade, wrote extensively about violent sexual fantasies in his books, while Leopld Von Sacher Masoch wrote most notably in his book Venus In Furs about a man being hurt and humiliated by a sexual partner.

  • 16. Algorithm

    Comes from the latin translation of Arabic mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi’s name, Algoritmi.

  • 17. Cardigan

    Named after James Thomas Brudenell, seventh earl of Cardigan. He spent a fortune making his military regiment the best dressed, so, naturally, he invented the Cardigan.

  • 18. Maverick

    Named after Samuel Maverick, a rancher who refused to brand his cattle despite the common practice at the time.

  • 19. Syphilis

    Named after the main character Siphilus in Girolamo Fracastoro’s epic poem Syphilis sive morbus gallicus.

  • 20. Dunce

    Interestingly enough, John Duns Scotus, the namesake of the word, is commonly thought of one of the most important philosophers of the Middle Ages. However, philosophers in the 16th century began accusing him of sophistry and as a result associated his name with, well, idiot.