Mysterious Word Origins: Brand Names to Nicknames

Jeep- Eugene the Jeep, a character in Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar's widely syndicated comic strip "Popeye," had supernatural powers and could do just about anything.  Introduced in 1936, the mythical little animal was well known by World War II when Willis-Overland began manufacturing their versatile, open, 1¼-ton, four-wheel-drive vehicles for the armed services.  No one knows for certain, but the vehicle was probably named a jeep by U.S. servicemen from the sound of the army term GP (General Purpose), this reinforced by the popularity of Eugene the Jeep and the "jeep" noise that he consistently made.  In any event, jeep was "in the air at the time," as Mencken says, used as the name for many contrivances, and the official army name for the vehicle --"half-ton-four-by-four command-reconnaissance car" --was definitely in need of improvement.  A peep was the term invented to distinguish the new half-ton truck from the jeep, but it never really caught on.  Wrote-famed World War I correspondent Ernie Pyle, "The jeep does everything....It is faithful as a dog, strong as a mule, agile as a goat."

Adidas®- The popular running shoes, famous since marathons became popular in the late 1970's, bears the name of their German inventor and manufacturer Adi Dassler.

Band-aid®- Invented by Robert W. Johnson and George J. Seabury in 1874, the band-aid was registered by Johnson as a trademark in 1886 when he left Seabury and formed his own business, Johnson & Johnson.  Widely used today, the word is a zealously protected trademark and still must be capitalized. 

Cappuccino- This Italian espresso coffee mixed with steamed milk or cream is so called because its color resembles the color of the habits worn by the Capuchin monks.

Datsun®- The Japanese car, first made in 1913 by the forerunner of Nissan Motors, was originally named Dat, after the initials of its three owners, Messrs, Den, Ayoyama, and Takeuchi.  Later, Dat was changed to Datson, the son meant to suggest "the son of Dat."  But the Japanese pronunciation of son sounded too much like the Japanese word for "loss," something no business would want to suggest, and in 1932 the name was changed to Datsun. 

Easter- The pagan festival held at the vernal equinox to honor Eastre, the goddess of dawn, was called Eastre in Old English.  Since the Christian festival celebrating Christ's resurrection fell at about the same time, the pagan name was borrowed for it when Christianity was introduced to England, the name later being changed slightly to Easter.




Flea Market- These bargain markets have nothing to do with fleas.  Flea market has been an American expression as far back as Dutch colonial days when there was a very real Vallie (Valley) Market at the valley, or foot, of Maiden Lane in downtown Manhattan.  The Vallie Market came to be abbreviated to Vlie Market and this was soon being pronounced Flea Market.

Geek- The carnival "wild man," usually an alcoholic, who bit the heads off of chickens; any person who has sunk to the lowest depths of degradation, or who is odd and ridiculous.  The word is a variation on the English word geck for a fool, which dates back to the 16th century and was used by Shakespeare among other great writers.

Hallmark®- Hallmark's, "marks of excellence on products" owe their origin to the official stamp of the Goldsmith's Company of London, which in 1300 was ordered by Edward I to stamp all gold and silver with such a mark to indicate its purity.  They were called hallmarks because the stamping was done at Goldsmith's Hall in London.

Ivory® soap- Probably the only soap named from the Bible.  In 1879, on of Proctor & Gamble's executives was inspired in his coinage by Psalm 45: "All the garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made me glad."

QPB Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins ©2004