byword C2+ Topic:People & Society Also spelled by-word US /ˈbaɪˌwɝd/ UK /ˈbaɪˌwɜːd/ See IPA manual 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... proverbepitomewatchwordslogancatchphraseexemplar Word family Related forms byword Etymology AI details 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 External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # 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