appellative
Americannoun
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a descriptive name or designation, as Bald in Charles the Bald.
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a common noun.
adjective
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designative; descriptive.
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tending toward or serving for the assigning of names.
the appellative function of some primitive rites.
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pertaining to a common noun.
noun
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an identifying name or title; appellation
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grammar another word for common noun
adjective
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of or relating to a name or title
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(of a proper noun) used as a common noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of appellative
1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Late Latin appellātīvus. See appellate, -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Now a taxidermied water buffalo head — the ox — watches from above the bar, while the appellative bull is represented across from it in gleaming metal.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
“But somebody must have sent them, aunties,” said Marie, who dropped into the diminutive, and slightly endearing, appellative quite naturally, now that she found herself being exalted by her relatives.
From A Double Knot by George Manville Fenn
He fixed upon a beautiful woman of Blois, named Cassandre, whose Greek appellative, it is said, was her principal attraction in his fancy.
From The Romance of Biography (Vol 1 of 2) or Memoirs of Women Loved and Celebrated by Poets, from the Days of the Troubadours to the Present Age. 3rd ed. 2 Vols. by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson
So he can apply to himself whichever title he likes best; but whether he deserves either one or the other, depends on what he has done to merit the appellative.
Subsequently, this name of office was applied to created angels and to men employed, and because they were employed, as messengers; and it finally came to be used as a personal appellative.
From The Messiah in Moses and the Prophets by Eleazar Lord
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
