Examples:
- macadam (crushed stone for roads, so called from Macadam, the inventor),
- mackintosh (a waterproof garment),
- napoleon (a coin),
- guinea (twenty-one shillings),
- mentor (a wise counsellor),
- derringer (a kind of pistol).
60. A lifeless object, one of the lower animals, or any human quality or emotion is sometimes regarded as a person.
This usage is called personification, and the object, animal, or quality is said to be personified.
Each old poetic Mountain
Inspiration breathed around.—Gray.Who’ll toll the bell?
“I,” said the Bull,
“Because I can pull.”His name was Patience.—Spenser.
Smiles on past Misfortune’s brow
Soft Reflection’s hand can trace;
And o’er the cheek of Sorrow throw
A melancholy grace.—Gray.Love is and was my lord and king,
And in his presence I attend.—Tennyson.Time gently shakes his wings.—Dryden.
The name of anything personified is regarded as a proper noun and is usually written with a capital letter.
Note. The rule for capitals is not absolute. When the personification is kept up for only a sentence or two (as frequently in Shakspere), the noun often begins with a small letter.
SPECIAL CLASSES OF NOUNS
61. An abstract noun is the name of a quality or general idea.
Examples: