Concept in Definition ABC

An epithet is a form of adjective, specifically it is an explanatory adjective. Like any other adjective, the epithets agree in gender and number with the nouns they accompany. On the other hand, these explanatory adjectives state a quality that is already typical of the noun, that is, the epithet gives information about something that is already contained in the idea of ​​the noun. The function of epithets is to add an emotional component to the noun, in such a way that they serve to emphasize its meaning. Epithets are generally part of poetic language. The explanatory adjective is a dispensable element of the communication, since it does not vary the meaning of the noun and simply complements and underlines it.

Attending to the etymology of the word, epithet comes from the Greek, specifically from the word epitheton, which means added or added.

Concrete examples of sentences with epithets

In the sentence "the cold snow of winter "the word cold is an epithet, since this adjective does not inform about snow, as it is always cold.

In prayer "I remember the sweet honey of my childhood "the adjective sweet is also an epithet, since honey is already necessarily sweet. On the other hand, if he said "we got a sweet defeat" sweet would not be an epithet, since a defeat does not have to be sweet (it could be bitter, sad, painful, etc).

In the sentence "the intense blue of the sky" we can see that blue is an epithet, but in this case the adjective blue does provide a information about the sky, since the sky does not always have the same color (it is usually blue but there are very various).

The use of epithets in poetic language

The poetry has its own language and to achieve greater force creative poets resort to the so-called figures rhetoric. One of them is the epithet. From a literary point of view, the epithet is a figure of accumulation, since it has the purpose of enhancing the meaning of what is described.

If in a verse the poet refers to the white lily, the green meadows, the cold ice or the thorny brambles, we are before concrete examples of epithets. It could be said that this form of adjectivation is almost exclusive to poetry, as it happens with other rhetorical figures. However, we sometimes use epithets when margin of poetry, such as when we say "a horrible fight" or when referring to some historical figures with a characteristic singular that defines them (Alejando Magno, Alfonso X the wise or Felipe the beautiful).

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