noun
byword
BYE-wurd/ˈbaɪwɜːrd/
A person or thing widely known as an example of a particular quality.
The sturdy old bridge is a byword for reliability among the local people.
Etymology
“By” and “word” formed an Old English term for a proverb. The meaning shifted from a familiar saying to a person or thing that had become proverbial, often as a bad example.
In context
although Pol Pot and his followers initially rejected the term themselves, it quickly gained traction and is the name most typically used for the Communist Party of Kampuchea today, a byword for the terror which would occur years later
More examples
- For decades, his name was a byword for honesty.
- The troubled project became a byword for waste.
- That manufacturer is a byword for reliable tools.
Forms
byword · bywords
Similar words
- example
- Any illustrative case, while byword suggests widespread recognition.