noun
Meaning 1
A term used to characterize a person or thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
epithet
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈɛp.ɪˌθɛt/
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/ˈɛp.əˌθɛt/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: EH1 P AH0 TH EH2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A term used as a qualifier of the name of a deity in order to designate said deity in a particular aspect or role.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, mysticism, mythology, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: byname
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cognomen, eponym, byname, to-name, surname
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
One of many formulaic words or phrases used in the Iliad and Odyssey to characterize a person, a group of people, or a thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
An abusive or contemptuous word or phrase.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, taxonomy
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To term; to refer to as.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- He was epitheted "the king of fools".
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: name
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: defamation, calumny, calumniation, obloquy, traducement, hatchet job
Narrower terms: smear word
noun
Meaning 9
descriptive word or phrase
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: word picture, word-painting, delineation, depiction, picture, characterization, characterisation
History
Etymology
From Middle French épithète, from Latin epithetum, epitheton, from Ancient Greek ἐπίθετον (epítheton, “epithet, adjective”), the neuter of ἐπίθετος (epíthetos, “additional”), from ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi, “to add on”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “in addition”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put”) (suf. possibly related to title in the sense of "ascribed appellation") (from Proto-Indo-European *dheh1- (“to put, to do”)). Doublet of epitheton.
Across languages
Translations
84 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: صِفَة (ṣifa) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Armenian: մակդիր (makdir) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Belarusian: эпі́тэт (epítet) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Bulgarian: епитет (epitet) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Catalan: epítet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Chinese Mandarin: 稱號 /称号 (chēnghào) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Chinese Mandarin: 綽號 /绰号 (chuòhào) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Chinese Mandarin: 修飾語 /修饰语 (xiūshìyǔ) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Czech: epiteton — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Danish: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Dutch: toenaam — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Dutch: epitheton — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Esperanto: epiteto — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Finnish: mainesana — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Finnish: epiteetti — term used to characterize a person or thing
- French: épithète — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Georgian: ეპითეტი (eṗiteṭi) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- German: Beiwort — term used to characterize a person or thing
- German: Epitheton — term used to characterize a person or thing
- German: Attribut — term used to characterize a person or thing
- German: Beiname — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Greek: επίθετο (epítheto) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Ancient Greek: ἐπίθετον (epítheton) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Hungarian: jelző — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Hungarian: epitéta — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Italian: epiteto — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Japanese: 渾名 — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Japanese: あだ名 (adana) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Kazakh: эпитет (épitet) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Korean: 형용사구 (hyeong'yongsagu) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Korean: 수식어 (susigeo) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Latvian: epitets — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Norwegian Bokmål: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Norwegian Nynorsk: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Persian: صفت (sefat) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Persian: گواسه (govâse) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Polish: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Portuguese: epíteto — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Romanian: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Russian: эпи́тет (epítet) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Slovene: pridevek — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Spanish: epíteto — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Swedish: epitet — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Tamil: அடைமொழி (aṭaimoḻi) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Ukrainian: епі́тет (epítet) — term used to characterize a person or thing
- Arabic: صِفَة (ṣifa) — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Bulgarian: прякор (prjakor) — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Catalan: epítet — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Danish: tilnavn — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Dutch: epitheton — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Finnish: epiteetti — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Finnish: liikanimi — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- French: épithète — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- German: Beiwort — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- German: Beiname — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- German: Spitzname — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Ancient Greek: ἐπίθετον (epítheton) — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Italian: epiteto — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Korean: 별칭 (byeolching) — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Latvian: epitets — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Polish: epitet — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Tamil: அடைமொழி (aṭaimoḻi) — term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person
- Bulgarian: ругатня (rugatnja) — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Catalan: epítet — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Danish: skældsord — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Dutch: scheldnaam — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Dutch: schimpnaam — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Finnish: haukkumanimi — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- French: épithète — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- German: Schimpfwort — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- German: Schimpfname — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Italian: epiteto — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Polish: epitet — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Tamil: வன்சொல் (vaṉcol) — abusive or contemptuous word or phrase
- Dutch: epitheton — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Finnish: lajinimi — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Finnish: alalajinimi — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- German: Epitheton — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Italian: epiteto — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Kazakh: эпитет (épitet) — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Norwegian Bokmål: epitet — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Norwegian Nynorsk: epitet — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Russian: эпи́тет (epítet) — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
- Spanish: epíteto específico — word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species
Real reading context