Lexic.us

Definition of Byword

1. Noun. A condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people.

Definition of Byword

1. n. A common saying; a proverb; a saying that has a general currency.

Definition of Byword

1. Noun. a proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase ¹

2. Noun. a person who, or a thing that represents something with specified characteristics, byspel ¹

3. Noun. an object of notoriety or interest ¹

4. Noun. a nickname or epithet ¹

5. Noun. (by extension) an object of scorn or derision ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Byword

1. a well-known saying [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Byword

Literary usage of Byword

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Life and Writings of Philip, Duke of Wharton by Lewis Saul Benjamin (1913)
"Duke's name became a byword for all that was reckless and dissipated, and he was looked at askance by respectable ..."

2. The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks by Thomas Brooks, Alexander Balloch Grosart (1867)
"... slandered, and reproached on all hands; every one will hoot and hiss at us, we shall become a scorn and a byword to all that live in the family with us, ..."

3. A Dictionary of English Synonymes and Synonymous Or Parallel Expressions by Richard Soule (1871)
"byword, n. 1. Saying, saw, maxim, Bystander, n. Spectator, looker-on. By stealth, Secretly, clandestinely. By the board, Overboard, over the side. ..."

4. The Pillar of Divine Truth Immoveably Fixed on the Foundation of the by William Greenfield (1831)
"That they should become a proverb and byword, ... And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall ..."

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