byword

[ bahy-wurd ]

noun

1. a word or phrase associated with some person or thing; a characteristic expression, typical greeting, or the like.

   Synonyms: motto, slogan

2. a word or phrase used proverbially; common saying; proverb.

   Synonyms: maxim, adage, saw, aphorism, apothegm

3. an object of general reproach, derision, scorn, etc.:

   His crimes will make him a byword through the ages.

4. an epithet, often of scorn.

byword

/ ˈbaɪˌwɜːd /

noun

1. a person, place, or thing regarded as a perfect or proverbial example of something

   their name is a byword for good service

2. an object of scorn or derision
3. a common saying; proverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of byword¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of byword¹

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

Example Sentences

Columbine became a byword for a distinctly American form of danger and, in the law-enforcement world, the need for immediate efforts to confront active shooters.

From Time

Friedman said “caution has been a byword” in his long handling of the case but it was time for Hinckley to be set free.

From Washington Post

Flying cars are almost a byword for the misplaced optimism of technologists, but recent news suggests their future may be on slightly firmer footing.

From Singularity Hub 

Robinhood, the brokerage that has become a byword for the boom in retail trading, is planning to go public.

From Quartz

Soon their sweeping machine was outselling their cups and saucers and Bissell became a byword for floor cleaners—by royal appointment too!

From Popular-Science

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg