From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Epithet \Ep"i*thet\, v. t.
To describe by an epithet. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
Never was a town better epitheted. --Sir H.
Wotton.
Epithetic
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
epithet
n 1: a defamatory or abusive word or phrase [syn: {name},
{epithet}]
2: descriptive word or phrase
|
