byword
Meanings
Plural: bywords
Noun
- a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
- A proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase.
- A characteristic word or expression; a word or phrase associated with a person or group.
- Someone or something that stands as an example (i.e. metonymically) for something else, by having some of that something's characteristic traits.
- An object of notoriety or contempt, scorn or derision.
- A nickname or epithet.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English byword, byworde (“proverb”), from Old English bīword, bīwyrd, bīwyrde (“proverb, household word", also "adverb”), from Proto-West Germanic *bīwurdī, equivalent to by- + word. Compare Latin proverbium, which byword may possibly be a translation of. Cognate with Old High German pīwurti (“proverb”). Compare also Old English bīspel (“proverb, example”), bīcwide (“byword, proverb, tale, fable”), Dutch bijwoord (“adverb”).
Scrabble Score: 15
byword is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordbyword is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
byword is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 15
byword is a valid Words With Friends word