The
use of some
epithet or the name of some office, dignity, or the like, instead of the proper name of the face; as when
his majesty is used for a king, or when, instead of Aristotle, we speak, the philosopher; or, conversely, the
use of a proper name instead of an appellative, as when a clever
man is called a Solomon, or an
eminent orator a Cicero.
Origin: L, fr. Gr, fr. To name instead; + to name, name.
Source: Websters Vocabulary