Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Epithet
Ep′i-thet
,Noun.
[L.
epitheton
, Gr. [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] added, fr. [GREEK] to add; ἐπί
upon, to + [GREEK] to put, place: cf. F. épithète
. See Do
.] 1.
An adjective expressing some quality, attribute, or relation, that is properly or specially appropriate to a person or thing;
as, a
. just
man; a verdant
lawnA prince [Henry III.] to whom the
epithet
“worthless” seems best applicable. Hallam.
The name epithet was formerly extended to nouns which give a title or describe character (as the “epithet of liar”), but is now confined wholly to adjectives. Some rhetoricians, as Whately, restrict it still further, considering the term epithet as belonging only to a limited class of adjectives, viz., those which add nothing to the sense of their noun, but simply hold forth some quality necessarily implied therein;
as, the
But this restriction does not prevail in general literature. Epithet is sometimes confounded with application, which is always a noun or its equivalent. bright
sun, the lofty
heavens, etc. Ep′i-thet
,Verb.
T.
To describe by an epithet.
[R.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Epithet
EP'ITHET
,Noun.
It is sometimes used for title, name, phrase or expression; but improperly.
EP'ITHET
v,t, To entitle; to describe by epithets.Definition 2024
epithet
epithet
English
Noun
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| Examples (descriptive substitute) |
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| Examples (biology: part of scientific name of plants, fungi and bacteria) |
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epithet (plural epithets)
- A term used to characterize a person or thing.
- A term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person.
- One of many formulaic words or phrases used in Iliad and the Odyssey to characterize a person, a group of people, or a thing.
- An abusive or contemptuous word or phrase.
- 2006, Eric L. Goldstein, The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity:
- Part of this process was the elaboration of new terms for the Jew, especially the increasingly popular epithet “kike”.
-
- (taxonomy) A word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species. This applies only to formal names of plants, fungi and bacteria. In formal names of animals the corresponding term is the specific name.
Synonyms
- (descriptive substitute): cognomen
See also
- artepithet
Translations
term used to characterize a person or thing
term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species