adidas

The word 'adidas' derives from the name of the brand's founder, Adolf 'Adi' Dassler, combining his nickname and the first three letters of his surname to create one of the most famous brand names in history.

adidas was founded back in 1924 in Herzogenaurach, Germany, which is still the global HQ of the company. You'll also find PUMA based in Herzogenaurach, created by Adi Dassler's brother, Rudolf, as part of a long-running sibling rivalry.

adidas is floated on the public stock exchange, allowing anyone to own a share in the company. Various large multinational investments groups control large amounts of adidas shares, with many becoming available after Adi Dassler's death in 1987.

adidas is pronounced ah - dee - das, with emphasis on the 'ah' sound at the start. adidas is often mispronounced in America where more emphasis is placed on the 'dee' part of the word and the 'das' is heard more as 'dus', erroneously.