epithetise

English

Verb

epithetise (third-person singular simple present epithetises, present participle epithetising, simple past and past participle epithetised)

1. Alternative form of epithetize
   • 1839, Simon Gray, The Spaniard; or, Relvindez and Elzora, a tragedy:

     If I thought our very worthy chairman would smile on having a tragedy put into his hands by one who paid much attention to so dry, heavy — or how shall we epithetise it? — a subject or science as statistics or political economy, surely I cannot expect less from our very worthy croupier, on having a comedy, forsooth, put into his hands by the same student of the dry or heavy, but that he should laugh fairly and broadly out.

   • 1872, David MacCalman Turpie, The New Testament View of the Old: A Contribution to Biblical Introduction, page 149:

     And if Peter can so epithetise the psalmist David with propriety, why may not Matthew apply the same epithet to the psalmist Asaph ?

   • 1874, Henry Barton Baker, French Society from the Fronde to the Great Revolution, page 184:

     France might well in after years look back with melancholy pride upon that brilliant period and epithetise the central figure as “la Grande Monarque'; for much as it is now the fashion to sneer at that agnomen, Louis was in those days a great king.