epithet

noun

ep·​i·​thet ˈe-pə-ˌthet How to pronounce epithet (audio)
 also  -thət
1
a
: a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing
b
: a disparaging or abusive word or phrase
c
: the part of a taxonomic name identifying a subordinate unit within a genus
2
obsolete : expression
epithetic adjective
or epithetical

Did you know?

Nowadays, epithet is usually used negatively, with the meaning "a disparaging word or phrase," but it wasn't always that way. Epithet comes from Greek epitithenai, meaning "to put on" or "to add." In its oldest sense, epithet is simply a descriptive word or phrase, especially one joined by fixed association to the name of someone or something, as in "Ivan the Great" or the Homeric phrase "wine-dark sea."

Examples of epithet in a Sentence

His charitable works have earned him the epithet “Mr. Philanthropy.” Many were offended by her use of racial epithets. a group of angry people hurling epithets at one another
Recent Examples on the Web There might be a great many creative epithets used to denigrate Asian people, as I was reminded about recently when watching the 2008 film Gran Torino, in which Clint Eastwood plays a cantankerous old man who owns a thesaurus full of them—but the directness of chink feels among the worst. Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2024 Demonstrators were outside, waving Nazi flags and screaming epithets. Annie Gowen, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2024 Paul—fifteen in Herbert’s book—possesses extraordinary mental acuity, precocious fighting skills, luxurious windswept locks, and, as things proceed, more epithets than anyone under the age of twenty should be saddled with: Mahdi, Muad’Dib, Usul, Lisan al-Gaib, Kwisatz Haderach. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024 When Horry County Police Department officers and firefighters arrived, the neighbors stood near the cross and hurled racial epithets at the family, according to police reports. Tim Craig, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024 The church was the site of a deadly mass shooting on June 17, 2015, when the pastor and eight other worshippers gathered for Bible study were killed by a white supremacist shouting racial epithets. Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024 It will be hurled as an epithet but also transformed by Márquez into a signifier of connection. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 27 Jan. 2024 Yelling such an epithet at a particular Jewish student or pinning such a sign to his dorm room door could be considered religious harassment, not free speech. David Cole, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024 The incident occurred in 2021 before the Norman-Midwest City girls high school basketball game when an announcer for a livestream cursed and called one team by a racial epithet as the players kneeled during the national anthem. CBS News, 6 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'epithet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin epitheton, from Greek, from neuter of epithetos added, from epitithenai to put on, add, from epi- + tithenai to put — more at do

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of epithet was in 1579

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Dictionary Entries Near epithet

Cite this Entry

“Epithet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epithet. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

epithet

noun
ep·​i·​thet ˈep-ə-ˌthet How to pronounce epithet (audio)
1
a
: a word or phrase (as Lionhearted in "Richard the Lionhearted") that expresses a quality thought to be characteristic of a person or thing
b
: a word or name used as a term of abuse
2
: the part of a taxonomic name identifying a subordinate unit within a genus
epithetic adjective
or epithetical

Medical Definition

epithet

noun
ep·​i·​thet
ˈep-ə-ˌthet also -thət
: the part of a scientific name identifying the species, variety, or other subunit within a genus see specific epithet

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