Namely, 89

NAMELY

eponyms (EP-uh-nimz)

words based on or derived from a person's name.

First Known Use: mid-19^th century

“What’s in a Name?”

Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 2.2­

89: Mach: a measurement of the relation of the speed of a moving body to the speed of sound (from Ernst Mach, 1838–1865, an Austrian physicist who introduced the Mach number; first known use of the word in sense of “Mach 1,” “Mach 2,” etc., 1937)

His favorite was J. S. Bach—

He was Mach 1 for Mr. Mach.

But then he met that girl named Sue,

And Bach slid downward to Mach 2.

They had a daughter—Mary Lee.

And Bach slid downward to Mach 3.

And so it went throughout his days—

Yes, Bach slid downward in the haze.

Yes, things were not what they had been

When Bach, poor guy, became Mach 10.