| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| antonomasia |
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| SYLLABICATION: | an·to·no·ma·sia |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   n t -n-m  zh |
| NOUN: | 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.” | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin, from Greek antonomazein, to name instead : anti-, instead of; see anti– + onomazein, to name (from onoma, name; see n -men- in Appendix I). | | OTHER FORMS: | anto·no·mastic (-mst k) —ADJECTIVE
anto·no·masti·cal·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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