aspirin

Aspirin began as the German trademark Aspirin, built from acetylierte Spirsäure — literally "acetylated spiraeic acid," describing the compound's chemical makeup.

Once a protected German trade name, it became generic in everyday English after various German trademarks were nullified in the United States following World War I.

Heroin followed the same path — another German trademark that lost its legal protection in the U.S. after the war and slipped into ordinary use.