Byword

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbaɪ.wÉ™(ɹ)d/
• US IPA: /ˈbaɪ.wÉšd/

Origin

From Middle English byworde ("proverb"), from Old English bīword, bīwyrde ("proverb, household word", also "adverb"), from bī- ("by-") + word ("word"); probably a translation of Latin proverbium. Compare also Old High German pīwurti ("proverb"), Old English bīspel ("proverb, example"), bīcwide ("byword, proverb, tale, fable"). More at byspel.

Full definition of byword

Noun

1. a proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase
2. someone or something that stands (metonymically) for something else, by having some of that something's characteristic traits; byspel
3. An object of notoriety or contempt.
• 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. XII:"I know you and Harry are inseparable. Surely for that reason, if for none other, you should not have made his sister's name a by-word."
4. a nickname or epithet
5. (by extension) an object of scorn or derision