babbitt
UK[ˈbæbɪt]US[ˈbæbɪt]
n
A soft, white metal alloy used for bearings, typically consisting of tin with smaller amounts of antimony and copper.
n
(often capitalized) A person who is smugly conventional and materialistic, lacking in culture or intellectual curiosity.
Etymology
The word 'babbitt' originates from the name of Isaac Babbitt, an American inventor who patented the soft bearing alloy in 1839. His surname, of English origin, was subsequently applied to the material he created. The abstract, pejorative sense of the word was established by the American novelist Sinclair Lewis in his 1922 novel Babbitt, whose protagonist, George F. Babbitt, epitomized the narrow-minded, conformist middle-class businessman. Thus, the term evolved from a concrete, technical trademark into a widely used label for a specific social and intellectual type.
Analysis
This is a proper eponym (a word derived from a person's name). It does not contain separable morphemes based on its spelling. The functional role is that of a nominalized proper noun.
Examples
The mechanic replaced the worn crankshaft bearings with new ones lined with babbitt.
He was dismissed by the artists as a babbitt, more concerned with profit than with creative expression.
The novel is a sharp satire of the babbittry that dominated 1920s American small-town life.