# Trademark product names that became VERBS **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157 "2008-05-13T12:51:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/21 "2008-05-13T17:11:58Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I’ve also been asked by co-workers to “PDF” something. That is, convert a document to PDF format. Bugs the hell out of me, but I keep my mouth shut. [/QUOTE] I get that all the time. It doesn’t annoyance me that much. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/22 "2008-05-13T17:15:30Z")
[QUOTE=griffin1977] Lawyers hate it when that happens (Google’s lawyers [complained](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3006486.stm) when an episode of ER used “to google” as a verb), as it weakens the companies rights to the brand. [/QUOTE] While the lawyers don’t like it, if they send a letter complaining, it shows they are protecting their trademark. Their job is to write the letter; that’s what counts. “To spackle” as a verb is based on a product name. Most people may think it’s the other way around, but “Spackle” was trademarked in 1927, while the verb form dates from 1940. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/23 "2008-05-13T17:16:29Z")
She Velcroed her boots and coat shut, and she headed out to face the snowstorm. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/24 "2008-05-13T17:16:44Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I’ve also been asked by co-workers to “PDF” something. That is, convert a document to PDF format. Bugs the hell out of me, but I keep my mouth shut. [/QUOTE] PDF isn’t a trademark. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/25 "2008-05-13T17:33:07Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I’ve also been asked by co-workers to “PDF” something. That is, convert a document to PDF format. Bugs the hell out of me, but I keep my mouth shut. [/QUOTE] Is there another way (that’s as convenient) to say it? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/26 "2008-05-13T17:41:40Z")
Well, I’m ready to call it a day. See you guys later; I’m gonna **HeadOn** out. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/27 "2008-05-13T17:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Many a trademark word has slipped into the language as a noun–asprin and bandaid being two of the most obvious. [/QUOTE] NB “aspirin” is a special case. Bayer was forced to give up the trademark as part of the aftermath of World War I. This has come up in other threads, so perhaps someone who recalls the details will be along to elaborate. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/28 "2008-05-13T17:59:01Z")
To Lysol To Windex ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/29 "2008-05-13T18:15:14Z")
To Ski-Doo. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/30 "2008-05-13T18:21:17Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] She Velcroed her boots and coat shut, and she headed out to face the snowstorm. [/QUOTE] That is a great example and an odd one. You can’t velcro anything but velcro, and the only unique thing about velcro is the way it velcros things shut. People use “to google” for other search engines, and “to fedex” for other non-USPS deliverers, but only velcro gets velcroed. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/31 "2008-05-13T18:30:00Z")
There are other brands of hook-and-loop fasteners besides Velcro. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/32 "2008-05-13T18:32:41Z")
There are other brands of hook-and-loop fasteners besides Velcro, though. Duragrip is another brand. So it appears that you can velcro other things. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/33 "2008-05-13T18:36:12Z")
[QUOTE=bibliophage] To jet-ski, to TiVo, to wite-out. By back-formation: to osterize. [/QUOTE] By the by, I had the pleasure of raising objections against Kawasaki’s application for Jet-Ski as a trade mark in the UK. In those days (early 1990s), under the Trade Marks Act 1938 (as amended) a mark could not be “descriptive of, or non-distinctive for” the goods/services for which it was to be used. They had to submit evidence that it had become “distinctive” by virtue of user, which meant that it was eventually Advertised before Acceptance under Section 18(1) (proviso)… Sorry; it has been 14 years since I stopped being a Trade Mark Examiner but I still can’t get it out of my head. Thankfully the legislation here has changed and they let any old crap onto the register. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/34 "2008-05-13T18:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=seosamh] By the by, I had the pleasure of raising objections against Kawasaki’s application for Jet-Ski as a trade mark in the UK. In those days (early 1990s), under the Trade Marks Act 1938 (as amended) a mark could not be “descriptive of, or non-distinctive for” the goods/services for which it was to be used. They had to submit evidence that it had become “distinctive” by virtue of user, which meant that it was eventually Advertised before Acceptance under Section 18(1) (proviso)… Sorry; it has been 14 years since I stopped being a Trade Mark Examiner but I still can’t get it out of my head. Thankfully the legislation here has changed and they let any old crap onto the register. [/QUOTE] To avoid legal complications, the publication I work on uses the ugly and nonsensical term “wetbike” (as a noun and a verb) in place of “jet-ski”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/35 "2008-05-13T20:20:48Z")
So you Straight Doped the question, eh? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/36 "2008-05-13T20:37:42Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] To Ski-Doo. [/QUOTE] This is an odd one. _Skidoo (sometimes skiddoo)_, meaning depart, has been around since at least 1903. It was hyphenated as a trademark for a brand of snowmobile. It was a pun on the older word. Since then, as **Leaffan** says, ski-doo became another verb meaning “to ride a snowmobile.” The same company (Bombardier?) started making a “personal watercraft” called Sea-Doo, to keep the snomo factory working all year. I don’t know if Sea-Doo has become a verb or not. Do you go sea-dooing? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/37 "2008-05-13T21:20:07Z")
When not Sellotaping things, I often Blutak them. Oh, and Tippex out mistakes, although I bet that one has been done. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/40 "2008-05-13T21:47:02Z")
[QUOTE=dedsetmad] Yes. When the Hoover vacuum cleaner was released in Britain early last century, the Poms began to speak of “Hoovering” the carpet. [/QUOTE] What was it you were saying in the other thread about posting before reading? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/41 "2008-05-13T22:06:58Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] This is an odd one. _Skidoo (sometimes skiddoo)_, meaning depart, has been around since at least 1903. It was hyphenated as a trademark for a brand of snowmobile. It was a pun on the older word. Since then, as **Leaffan** says, ski-doo became another verb meaning “to ride a snowmobile.” [/QUOTE] The Ski-doo was [originally supposed to be named the Ski-dog](http://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/manufacturing/clips/362-1988/). It’s not a pun on “skiddoo”. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157/42 "2008-05-14T00:18:19Z")
I told someone earlier to “Sharpie your name on the front of the box”. I don’t think that’s actually commonly used, I just specifically wanted her to use a black, permanent marker, and we’ve got about eight thousand sharpies within arm’s reach at any given moment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademark-product-names-that-became-verbs/449157.md?page=3)