Words & WritingGreek → English
Epithet
/ˈɛpɪθɛt/noun
A descriptive word or phrase attached to a name, often as a standing label.
The Greek roots
ἐπί
epí
upon, in addition
τίθημι
títhēmi
to put, place
Literally: “something put on”
The story of the word
ἐπίθετον means something placed on top. Homeric verse runs on them: swift-footed Achilles, grey-eyed Athena, the wine-dark sea, each phrase a ready-made metrical unit that fits a particular slot in the line, which is one of the arguments that the poems were composed aloud. English has drifted the word toward insult, though a laudatory epithet remains correct usage.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → French → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
anathemathesisthemeepithetic
In a sentence
Ivan earned his epithet late, and it stuck harder than his given name.