Entry Word: epithet

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual <King Richard I of England was given the very laudatory epithet “the Lion-Hearted”> — see nickname
2 an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings <the school has a strict ban against the use of racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual epithets> — see insult