Epithet

Not to be confused with Epitaph. For the taxonomic usage, see Epithet (disambiguation).

An epithet (from Ancient Greek ἐπίθετον (epítheton) 'adjective', from ἐπίθετος (epíthetos) 'additional'),[1] also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent, Richard the Lionheart, and Ladislaus the Short, or allusive, as in Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Æthelred the Unready, John Lackland, Mehmed the Conqueror and Bloody Mary.

The word epithet also may refer to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory word or phrase.[2][3] This use is criticized by Martin Manser and other proponents of linguistic prescription.[4] H. W. Fowler noted in 1926 that "epithet is suffering a vulgarization that is giving it an abusive imputation."[5]

  1. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (eds.). "Epithetos". A Greek-English Lexicon. Perseus Project.
  2. ^ "epithet". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  3. ^ Herzfeld, Michael (2016). Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics and the Real Life of States, Societies, and Institutions. Routledge. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-317-29755-0.
  4. ^ Manser, Martin H. (2007). Good Word Guide (6th ed.). A & C Black. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7136-7759-1.
  5. ^ Fowler. H. W. (1965) [1926]. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. (2nd ed.) Rev. By Sir Ernest Gowers. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 161.