Thomas Stearns Eliot

1 7.0

A British poet and critic born in the United States who wrote The Waste Land and won the Nobel Prize

proper noun
/ˈtɑːməs stɜrnz ˈɛliət/

: Thomas Stearns Eliot

Many consider Thomas Stearns Eliot to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.

Examples

In 1948, Thomas Stearns Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his outstanding contributions.
Thomas Stearns Eliot is widely recognized for his poem 'The Waste Land', which profoundly influenced modern poetry.
Many consider Thomas Stearns Eliot one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century.
Did Thomas Stearns Eliot write 'The Waste Land'?
Thomas Stearns Eliot is widely recognized for his poem 'The Waste Land', which profoundly influenced modern poetry.
In 1948, Thomas Stearns Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his outstanding contributions.
Many consider Thomas Stearns Eliot one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century.

Synonyms

T. S. Eliot

vsThomas Stearns Eliot

2 6.8

A British poet, writer, and critic born in the United States

is the full written name spelled out rather than initials

Surface Forms

Thomas Stearns Eliot main

Morphology

Thomas + Stearns + Eliot

This string is a proper name made of personal names; knowing the individual name elements only signals that it refers to a person, not the biographical facts (British poet, modernist, Nobel laureate). Proper names are referential/arbitrary rather than compositional, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent names would not be able to derive the specific meaning or significance of Thomas Stearns Eliot from the parts alone.

Etymology

Thomas Stearns Eliot is the full name of the poet better known as T. S. Eliot, who often used his initials on book covers so people remember him easily. He wrote powerful modern poems such as 'The Waste Land' and won the Nobel Prize, so his name now stands for a very important modern poet.