The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is…

epithet (noun):

1a : 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

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : 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.”

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