On Thu, 19 Dec 1996, Thomas R Jefferys wrote:
[me]
: >Woss "epititet" mean? I mean, it's pretty much clear from the context, but
: >I'd like to know exactly.
[thomas]
: >I assume that he meant "epithet", which is a derogatory or insulting word
: >or phrase.
That's what I guessed at first.
: American Heritage Dictionary:
:
: ep-i-thet: n. 1. A term to characterize the nature of a person or thing. 2.
: An adjective or descriptive phrase that comes to form part of or to
: substitute for a person's name or title. 3. An abusive or contemptuous word
: or phrase used to describe a person.
:
: Usage three is the one in most common usage, and is the one intended in the
: passage.
:
: Aren't dictionaries such useful things?
They may be, but my own one is the 1964 edition of the Oxford
Dictionary of Current English, and it only listed only use #2.
Thus I doubted my initial guess.
Sebastian