- Google's lawyers don't like it, but the search engine's name has become a generonym, a brand name that people use as a generic word for searching
Generonym
noun; derivation
A brand name that has become a generic name for its product category, e.g. Kleenex and Xerox A word was needed to describe the result of genericide, which is the process by which a brand name becomes a generic name for an entire product category. Products that have undergone this process include Aspirin, Escalator, Granola, Heroin, Linoleum, Yo-Yo, and Zipper. In 1983 the Supreme Court ruled that the term Monopoly had become generic and upheld the trademark rights of Parker Brothers.
Etymology : From Latin gener “kind” + Latin/Greek onym “name”
Source : SearchDay Newsletter
Last modified: 10 June 2008