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Byname vs Epithet - What's the difference?

byname | epithet |

As nouns the difference between byname and epithet

is that byname is (archaic|historical) a secondary name for a person or thing; a person's surname while epithet is a term used to characterize a person or thing.

As a verb byname

is (archaic) to assign a byname to.

byname

English

Alternative forms

* by-name

Noun

(en noun)
  • (archaic, historical) A secondary name for a person or thing; a person's surname.
  • (archaic, historical) A nickname.
  • A pseudonym; nom-de-plume.
  • (paganism) A ritual title for a god or goddess used in Heathenry.

    • Synonyms

    * cognomen * sobriquet *

    Verb

    (bynam)
  • (archaic) To assign a byname to.

    • References

    * * Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed., 1989.

    Anagrams

    * English words prefixed with by-

    epithet

    English

    Noun

    {{examples-right, sense=biology: part of scientific name of plants, fungi and bacteria, examples=*In Cannabis sativa'' the word ''sativa is a specific epithet . * In Festuca ovina'' subsp. ''guestphalica'' the word ''guestphalica is an infraspecific epithet .}} (en noun)
  • A term used to characterize a person or thing.
  • A term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person.
  • An abusive or contemptuous word or phrase.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, title=The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity?, author=Eric L. Goldstein
    • , passage=Part of this process was the elaboration of new terms for the Jew, especially the increasingly popular epithet “kike”.}}
  • (biology) 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.

    • Synonyms

    * (descriptive substitute) cognomen