- Epithet
- Epithet Ep"i*thet, n. [L. epitheton, Gr. ?, fr. ? added, fr. ?
to add; 'epi` upon, to + ? to put, place: cf. F.
['e]pith[`e]te. 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 lawn.
[1913 Webster]
A prince [Henry III.] to whom the epithet ``worthless'' seems best applicable. --Hallam. [1913 Webster]
2. Term; expression; phrase. ``Stuffed with epithets of war.'' --Shak.
Syn: {Epithet}, {Title}.
Usage: 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 bright sun, the lofty heavens, etc. But this restriction does not prevail in general literature. Epithet is sometimes confounded with application, which is always a noun or its equivalent. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
