byword

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by·word

also by-word (bī′wûrd′)

a. A proverbial expression; a proverb.

b. An often-used word or phrase.

2. One that represents a type, class, or quality: "Polyester got its déclassé reputation in the 1970s after cheap, poorly made double-knit leisure suits became a byword for bad taste" (Fortune).

3. An object of notoriety or interest: The eccentric poet was a byword in literary circles.

4. An epithet.

[Middle English byworde, from Old English bīword, translation of Latin prōverbium.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

byword

(ˈbaɪˌwɜːd)

1. a person, place, or thing regarded as a perfect or proverbial example of something: their name is a byword for good service.

2. an object of scorn or derision

3. a common saying; proverb

[Old English bīwyrde; see by, word; compare Old High German pīwurti, from Latin prōverbium proverb]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

by•word

(ˈbaɪˌwɜrd)

n.

1. a word or phrase associated with some person or thing.

2. a common saying; proverb.

3. a person regarded as the embodiment of a particular quality.

4. an object of reproach or scorn.

5. an epithet.

[before 1050; Middle English; Old English biwyrde. See by¹ (adj.), word]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

byword - a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people

adage, proverb, saw

locution, saying, expression - a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; "pardon the expression"

byword

noun

A usually pithy and familiar statement expressing an observation or principle generally accepted as wise or true:

adage, aphorism, maxim, motto, proverb, saw, saying.

Translations

proverbio

byword

[ˈbaɪwɜːd] N

1. → sinónimo m
his name is a byword for success → su nombre es sinónimo de éxito

2. (= slogan) → palabra f de moda

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

byword

[ˈbaɪwɜː^rd] n
to be a byword for → être synonyme de (fig)by-your-leave [ˌbaɪˈjəˈliːv] n
without so much as a by-your-leave → sans même demander la permission

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

byword

[ˈbaɪˌwɜːd] n his name is a byword for success → il suo nome è sinonimo di successo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature ?

I knew a wise man that had it for a byword, when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, Stay a little, that we may make an end the sooner.

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Every mistake was attributed to me, until "Makar Alexievitch" became a byword in our department.

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There is no longer a Popish tyrant on the throne of England, and by to-morrow noon, his name shall be a byword in this very street, where ye would make it a word of terror.

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that is their mean yet mighty byword of reproach -- the watchword with which they assassinated, hanged, and made away with Concini; and if I gave them their way they would assassinate, hang, and make away with me in the same manner, although they have nothing to complain of except a tax or two now and then.

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And besides, when folk talk of a country covered with troops, it's but a kind of a byword at the best.

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The casuists have become a byword of reproach; but their perverted spirit of minute discrimination was the shadow of a truth to which eyes and hearts are too often fatally sealed,--the truth, that moral judgments must remain false and hollow, unless they are checked and enlightened by a perpetual reference to the special circumstances that mark the individual lot.

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Once a byword! Now, an indistinctly remembered ignominy!

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To do things "railroad fashion" is now the byword; and it is worth the while to be warned so often and so sincerely by any power to get off its track.

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OEDIPUS No, that has grown a byword throughout Greece.

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In consequence of Dobbin's victory, his character rose prodigiously in the estimation of all his schoolfellows, and the name of Figs, which had been a byword of reproach, became as respectable and popular a nickname as any other in use in the school.

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Three days ago my preference for blue eyes was a byword. You have a shocking temper.

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Has he all that the world loves and admires and covets?--he must cast behind him their admiration, and afflict them by faithfulness to his truth, and become a byword and a hissing.