A word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species. This applies only to formal names of plants, fungi and bacteria. In formal names of animals the corresponding term is the specific name
An adjective expressing some quality, attribute, or relation, that is properly or specially appropriate to a person or thing; as, a just man; a verdant lawn
A short, poetic nickname in the form of an adjective or adjectival phrase attached to the normal name Frequently, this technique allows a poet to extend a line by a few syllables in a poetic manner that characterizes an individual or a setting within an epic poem The Homeric epithet in classical literature often includes compounds of two-words such as, "fleet-footed Achilles," "Cow-eyed Hera," "Grey-eyed Athena," or "the wine-dark sea " In other cases, it appears as a phrase, such as "Odysseus the man-of-many-wiles," or whanot The historical epithet is a descriptive phrase attached to a ruler's name For instance, King Alfred the Great, Duke Lorenzo the Magnificent, Robert the Devil, Richard the Lionheart, and so on Not to be confused with epitaph or epigram
An epithet is an adjective or short phrase which is used as a way of criticizing or praising someone. the religious issue which led to the epithet `bible-basher'. a word or short phrase used to describe someone, especially when praising them or saying something unpleasant about them (epitheton, from , from epitithenai )
An adjective or adjectival phrase, usually attached to the name of a person or thing, such as "Richard the Lion-Hearted," Milton's "ivy-crowned Bacchus" in "L'Allegro," or Homer's "rosy-fingered dawn " Sidelight: With epithets, poets can compress the imaginative power of many words into a single compound phrase Sidelight: An epithet may be either positive or negative in connotation or allusion and sometimes may be freshly coined, like a nonce word, for a particular circumstance or occasion (Compare Antonomasia Kenning, Periphrasis)
A word in the scientific name of a taxon following the name of the genus or species. This applies only to formal names of plants, fungi and bacteria. In formal names of animals an epithet does not occur