Final answer:
An eponym is something named after a person or thing, such as Haloquadratum walsbyi, which is named after microbiologist Anthony Edward Walsby. Other examples include terms like 'Linnaean taxonomy', derived from Carl Linnaeus' name. Metonyms also often serve as eponyms, although they represent a wider concept.
Step-by-step explanation:
An eponym is a person, place, or thing after whom or which something is named, or believed to be named. For example, the term Linnaean taxonomy is an eponym named after Carl Linnaeus, who developed a binomial nomenclature system to classify living organisms with a two-part scientific name consisting of the genus name and the specific epithet.
Another instance of an eponym can be seen in the case of metonyms, where a part or aspect of an object or idea stands in for the whole, such as using 'Washington' to refer to the United States government. Microbes, plants, and other species are frequently given names that honor the scientists who discovered them, such as the example of Haloquadratum walsbyi, named after microbiologist Anthony Edward Walsby.