Editing Eponym (section)

===Capitalized versus lowercase===
* Because [[proper nouns]] are capitalized in English, the usual default for eponyms is to capitalize the eponymous part of a term. When used as [[proper adjective]]s they are normally capitalized, for example [[Victorian era|Victorian]], [[Shakespearean]], and [[Kafkaesque]].<ref name="oxford">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btb1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 |title=New Hart's Rules: The Oxford Style Guide|first= Anne |last=Waddingham |page=105 |publisher=OUP Oxford |date=28 August 2014 |isbn= 978-0199570027 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbmXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 |title=No Grammar Tears 1 |author= Marthus-Adden Zimboiant |pages=256–257 |isbn=9781491800751 |date=2013-08-05 |publisher=AuthorHouse }}</ref>
* However, some eponymous adjectives and [[noun adjunct]]s are nowadays entered in many dictionaries as lowercase when they have evolved a common status, no longer deriving their meaning from the proper-noun origin.<ref name="M-W_C_10" /> For example, ''Herculean'' when referring to Hercules himself, but often ''herculean'' when referring to the figurative, generalized extension sense;<ref name="M-W_C_10" /> and ''quixotic'' and ''diesel engine'' [lowercase only].<ref name="M-W_C_10" /><ref name="AHD4" /> For any given term, one dictionary may enter only lowercase or only cap, whereas other dictionaries may recognize the capitalized version as a variant, either equally common as, or less common than, the first-listed styling (marked with labels such as "or", "also", "often", or "sometimes"). ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', in its section "Words derived from proper names",<ref name="CMOS_14e_pp253-254">{{cite book |author=University of Chicago |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |edition=14th |year=1993 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=0-226-10389-7 |at=[https://archive.org/details/chicagomanualofs00chic/page/ § 7.49, pp. 253–254] |title-link=The Chicago Manual of Style }}</ref> gives some examples of both lowercase and capitalized stylings, including a few terms styled both ways, and says, "Authors and editors must decide for themselves, but whatever choice is made should be followed consistently throughout a work."
* When the eponym is used together with a noun, the common-noun part is not capitalized (unless it is part of a title or it is the first word in a sentence). For example, in ''Parkinson disease'' (named after [[James Parkinson]]), ''Parkinson'' is capitalized, but ''disease'' is not. In addition, the adjectival form, where one exists, is usually lowercased for medical terms (thus ''[[parkinsonian]]'' although ''Parkinson disease''),<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nEW6CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |title=Grammar and Writing Skills for the Health Professional |first1= Lorraine |last1=Villemaire |first2=Doreen |last2=Oberg |publisher=Delmar Cengage Learning|edition= 2nd Revised |date=29 December 2005|isbn= 978-1401873745 |page=167}}</ref> and [[gram-negative bacteria|gram-negative]], [[gram-positive bacteria|gram-positive]] although [[Gram stain]].<ref>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emerging Infectious Diseases Style Guide.  [http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/pages/preferred-usage.htm Preferred Usage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613140506/http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/pages/preferred-usage.htm |date=2014-06-13 }}</ref> Uppercase Gram-positive or Gram-negative however are also commonly used in [[scientific journal]] articles and publications.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Through the wall: extracellular vesicles in Gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria and fungi |author1=Lisa Brown |author2=Julie M. Wolf |author3=Rafael Prados-Rosales |author4=Arturo Casadevall |journal=Nature Reviews Microbiology |volume=13 |issue=10 |pages= 620–630 |date=2015 |doi= 10.1038/nrmicro3480 |pmid=26324094 |pmc=4860279}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Science |title=Detecting Gram-negative bacteria |date=12 June 2015 |volume=348|issue= 6240|page= 1218|doi= 10.1126/science.348.6240.1218-o |author= Kristen L. Mueller}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gram-positive |title=Gram-positive |work=Dictionary.com |access-date=2016-10-22 |archive-date=2016-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020105533/http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gram-positive |url-status=live }}</ref>  In other fields, the eponym derivative is commonly capitalized, for example, ''Newtonian'' in physics,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Newtonian |title=Newtonian |work=Merriam-Wester |access-date=2016-10-22 |archive-date=2016-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023050723/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Newtonian |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Newtonian&submit.x=19&submit.y=19 |title=New·ton |work=The American Heritage Dictionary |access-date=2016-10-22 |archive-date=2016-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022220200/https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Newtonian&submit.x=19&submit.y=19 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Platonism|Platonic]]'' in philosophy (however, use lowercase ''platonic'' when describing love).<ref name="oxford"/> The capitalization is retained after a prefix and hyphen, e.g. ''non-Newtonian''.<ref name="oxford"/>

For examples, see the [[#Comparison table of eponym orthographic styling|comparison table]] below.