appellative
[uh-pel-uh-tiv]
noun
a descriptive name or designation, as Bald in Charles the Bald.
a common noun.
adjective
designative; descriptive.
tending toward or serving for the assigning of names: the appellative function of some primitive rites.
pertaining to a common noun.
Origin of appellative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for appellative
appellation, moniker, designation, title, epithet, cognomen, tag, handle, nicknameExamples from the Web for appellative
Contemporary Examples of appellative
In the curious case of Elle Fanning, however, the appellative is entirely deserved.
Elle Fanning on ‘Ginger & Rosa,’ Her Fashion Sense, Crush on Ryan Gosling, and MoreMarlow Stern
March 12, 2013
Historical Examples of appellative
The appellative "Elias" is in fact both a personal name and a title.
Jesus the ChristJames Edward Talmage
Wily Will justified his appellative; for, after suspicion arose, he was seen no more.
WaverleySir Walter Scott
So much for the name as an appellative; now for its appropriation as a generic.
That ayogriha is the name of the prince, not an appellative, appears from the Pli recensions.
The Gtakamlrya Sra
At the sound of the tender Russian appellative she turned to me quickly.
Marie TarnowskaAnnie Vivanti
appellative
noun
adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper