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antonomasia

 - 3 dictionary results

an⋅to⋅no⋅ma⋅sia

  [an-tuh-nuh-mey-zhuh]
Use antonomasia in a Sentence
–noun
1. Rhetoric. the identification of a person by an epithet or appellative that is not the person's name, as his lordship.
2. the use of the name of a person who was distinguished by a particular characteristic, as Don Juan or Annie Oakley, to designate a person or group of persons having the same characteristic.
Origin:
1580–90; < L < Gk, verbid of antonomázein to call by a new name, equiv. to ant- ant- + onomat- s. of ónoma name + -ia -ia

Related forms:
an⋅to⋅no⋅mas⋅tic  [an-tuh-noh-mas-tik] , an⋅to⋅no⋅mas⋅ti⋅cal, adjective
an⋅to⋅no⋅mas⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·to·no·ma·sia   (ān'tə-nə-mā'zhə)   
n.  

  1. The substitution of a title or epithet for a proper name, as in calling a sovereign "Your Majesty."

  2. The substitution of a personal name for a common noun to designate a member of a group or class, as in calling a traitor a "Benedict Arnold."


[Latin, from Greek antonomazein, to name instead : anti-, instead of; see anti- + onomazein, to name (from onoma, name; see n-men- in Indo-European roots).]
an'to·no·mas'tic (-mās'tĭk) adj., an'to·no·mas'ti·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

antonomasia

a figure of speech in which some defining word or phrase is substituted for a person's proper name (for example, "the Bard of Avon" for William Shakespeare). In fiction, the practice of giving to a character a proper name that defines or suggests a leading quality of that character (such as Squire Allworthy, Doctor Sawbones) is also called antonomasia. The word is from the Greek antonomasia, a derivative of antonomazein, "to call by a new name."

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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