epithet: [16] Etymologically, an epithet is a word that is ‘put on’ to or ‘added’ to another. The term comes from Greek epítheton, which meant literally ‘addition’, but was used by Greek grammarians for ‘adjective’. It was a derivative of epitithénai ‘put on, add’, a compound verb formed from the prefix epí- ‘on’ and tithénai ‘place, put’ (a relative of English do and theme). By the time the word reached English (via French or Latin) it had moved over from the vocabulary of the grammarian to that of the layman, in the sense ‘descriptive appellation’. => do, theme
epithet (n.)
"descriptive name for a person or thing," 1570s, from Middle French épithète or directly from Latin epitheton (source also of Spanish epíteto, Portuguese epitheto, Italian epiteto), from Greek epitheton "an epithet; something added," noun use of adjective (neuter of epithetos) "attributed, added, assumed," from epitithenai "to add on," from epi "in addition" (see epi-) + tithenai "to put" (see theme). Related: Epithetic; epithetical.
双语例句
1. " I wonder what he'll find to match this epithet, commented another man.
“ 看他对上一句什么, ”又一个说.
来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
2. In ` Alfred the Great', ` the Great'is an epithet.
"阿尔弗雷德大帝"中的"大帝 " 是个称号.
来自辞典例句
3. The specific epithet variously did or did not repeat a key word from the phrase - name.
种加词不同程度地重复或不重复同片语名称的某个关键词.
来自辞典例句
4. An epithet that sums up my feelings.
简洁地表达了我思想感情的形容词.
来自互联网
5. Indeed, some observers fear that anti - science epithet is in danger of becoming meaningless.