epithet

noun

ep·​i·​thet ˈe-pə-ˌthet 

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

ˌe-pə-ˈthe-tik 

adjective

or epithetical

ˌe-pə-ˈthe-ti-kəl 

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."

Synonyms of epithet

• nickname
• moniker
• surname

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

In the right-wing imagination, these women are acting like harpies — an epithet often seen online — when they’re supposed to be helpmeets. —Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026

When the time came for Alan Cumming to cease deliberations, Michael was reduced to sputtering epithets in random sequences. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026

While the epithet is sometimes attributed to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, Ronda has maintained a romantic aura for centuries, drawing creatives like Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles to its mountaintop setting. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026

Just a few days earlier in California, a house that had been decorated with lights celebrating Chanukah was riddled with bullets, with the assailant having been heard to yell anti-Jewish epithets. —Rabbi Steve Roth, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026

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

Phrases Containing epithet

• specific epithet

Rhymes for epithet

• alphabet
• arpanet
• bayonet
• biuret
• cigarette
• clarinet
• coronet
• coverlet
• dataset
• ethernet
• heavyset
• internet

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Kids Definition

epithet

noun

ep·​i·​thet ˈep-ə-ˌthet 

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

ˌep-ə-ˈthet-ik 

adjective

or epithetical

-ˈthet-i-kəl 

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