namesake
noun

- a person or thing named after another

- a person or thing with the same name as another

Collins Dictionary

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ORIGIN

The word is first attested around 1635 and probably comes from the phrase “for one’s name’s sake”, which originates in English Bible translations meaning “to protect one’s reputation”.

Naming a child after a relative, friend, or well-known person is a common practice in the English-speaking world. Continued practise of naming a child after the parent or grandparent may result in several relatives (e.g. cousins) being namesakes of each other despite not having been named after each other.

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MOST COMMON PHRASES

- for someone’s sake = if you do something for someone in order to help them ("I hope this investment is a wise one, for all our sakes")

- for heaven’s / goodness / pity’s sake / Pete’s sake (“Stop interrupting and let me finish speaking, for heaven’s sake”)

- for the sake of argument = in order to consider the possibility (“Just assume, for the sake of argument, that what she says is true”)

- for old times’ sake = if you do something in order to remember a happy time in the past (“How about we have lunch together sometime, just for old times’ sake?")

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CHINESE NAMESAKES

Unlike Western astrology which focuses on the birth month, the Chinese system considers the birth year to be the key to understanding personality and predicting the future.

According to legend, Buddha invited the entire animal kingdom to visit him on New Year’s Day, but only twelve animals attended the occasion. To show his appreciation, he decreed that from that day forth each year would be named for one of these animals and bear characteristics of its animal NAMESAKE.

2020 was the year of the RAT
2021 is the year of the OX
2022 will be the year of the TIGER
2023 will be the year of the RABBIT
2024 will be the year of the DRAGON
2025 will be the year of the SNAKE

2026 will be the year of the HORSE
2027 will be the year of the GOAT
2028 will be the year of the MONKEY
2029 will be the year of the ROOSTER
2030 will be the year of the DOG
2031 will be the year of the PIG

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Hey, here’s a weird coincidence. The applicant for the new marketing position is your NAMESAKE?”

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith