"Titular" =/= "eponymous

[Calidore]

Been enjoying the site for many years, but I'm seeing this more and more, and not just here. "Titular" may be more fun to type and say, but it means a title held without real authority, while "eponymous" refers to someone/thing named in a title: Batman is the eponymous hero of his eponymous show, not the titular anything.

I suggest to the judges, especially the guilty (*cough*) ones, that you start using the phrase "eponymous (not titular)" in your reviews. This spreads the correct usage, gives the impression--accurate or not--that you always knew the difference, and you still get to type "titular."

Best,

Calidore

[Dan Mancini]

While the grammar cop in me yearns to agree, English is a language that evolves based on popular not proper usage, and the definition of "titular" appears to be evolving. It's common now in American dictionaries to find an adjectival definition of "titular" something along the lines of "Of, relating to, constituting, or derived from a title (as in the titular hero of a play)." I took a quick look and found such definitions in both Webster's and The American Heritage, as well as at Dictionary.com and a couple other online dictionaries. In some of those sources, that definition actually preceded "in name only."

"Eponymous" is definitely more clear and concise, but I suspect it's dying in American usage (I'm not sure about British usage).

But, hey, I'd gladly allow "eponymous" to be absorbed into "titular" in exchange for rolling back the madness of using "they" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun. Compromise!

[Calidore]

I double-checked my Merriam-Webster Collegiate (the editing/proofreading standard) and also found that definition this time--I'd overlooked it because it's buried at #3 and is much less wordy than the others. So, fine. I prefer my titulars flexible rather than rigid anyway.

Best,

Calidore

[mavrach]

Plus "titular" is one of those words that makes you chuckle immaturely, kind of like "condiment."

[Andrew Forbes]

Plus "titular" is one of those words that makes you chuckle immaturely, kind of like "condiment."

Dictaphone.

Dictaphone.

[Attrage]

I gotta say I'm with Homer Simpson on this one: "I can't say the word 'titmouse' without giggling like a school girl! he he heee"