View synonyms for byword

byword

[ bahy-wurd ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a word or phrase associated with some person or thing; a characteristic expression, typical greeting, or the like.
Synonyms: motto, slogan
a word or phrase used proverbially; common saying; proverb.
Synonyms: adage, saw, aphorism, apothegm, maxim
an object of general reproach, derision, scorn, etc.:
His crimes will make him a byword through the ages.
an epithet, often of scorn.

byword

/ ˈbaɪˌwɜːd /

a person, place, or thing regarded as a perfect or proverbial example of something
their name is a byword for good service
an object of scorn or derision
a common saying; proverb

Origin of byword¹

before 1050; Middle English biworde, Old English biwyrde. See by (adj.), word

Origin of byword¹

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

It was a ghastly tragedy that rattled a nation and became a byword for anti-Semitism in France.

At a time when “right to work” has become a byword for union-busting, this is radical indeed.

Syndicated columnist Dan Savage even campaigned to turn “santorum” into a byword for sexual waste as revenge.

By Leo Mirani Drones have a terrible reputation, mostly because they have become a byword for death and destruction.

But he marred it all by a temper so ungovernable that in Paris there was current a byword, "Explosive as Garnache."

For years the names of oil king and iron master have been a hissing and a byword among the hot-heads in America.

A prince may be the byword of all Europe, yet he alone know nothing of it.

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

Had not the justice of the strong become a byword and a loathing?

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