byword

C2+ Topic:People & Society

Also spelled by-word

US /ˈbaɪˌwɝd/ UK /ˈbaɪˌwɜːd/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a person or thing taken as a typical example of a quality

The brand became a byword for reliability.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person or thing taken as... proverb epitome watchword slogancatchphraseexemplar

Word family

Related forms by word

Etymology

From Old English biword ('proverb, common saying'), a compound of bi ('by') + word, modeled on Latin proverbium.

biword Old English word Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

# byword

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈbaɪˌwɝd
**IPA (UK):** ˈbaɪˌwɜːd

## Meanings
1. a person or thing taken as a typical example of a quality

## Examples
- The brand became a byword for reliability.

## Synonyms
- proverb
- epitome
- watchword
- slogan
- catchphrase
- exemplar

## Related Forms
- by
- word

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: biword
- Root: word

## Etymology
From Old English biword ('proverb, common saying'), a compound of bi ('by') + word, modeled on Latin proverbium.

## AI Etymology
Byword is a noun meaning "a person or thing taken as a typical example of a quality". Historically, it is from Old English biword ('proverb, common saying'), a compound of bi ('by') + word, modeled on Latin proverbium. The visible construction is part of the etymology: byword is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Old English biword with Old English word. Close English family members include by, and word.

## Topics
- People & Society

markdown

byword

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback