Epithet: meaning and examples

In Spanish there are different types of adjectives depending on how they complement the noun they accompany. Thus, we have, for example, the qualifying adjectives, which are those that highlight the degree of a quality of said noun, or the Relational adjectives, which indicate the group or characteristics of the name with respect to other names of the same category or group.

In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to focus on the in-depth study of the epithet. For this, we will define what the epithet is, what is its meaning and its main uses, accompanying the entire explanation with various examples to clarify any doubts. Read on and discover the meaning of epithet with examples.

We begin with this lesson on the meaning of epithet with examples going to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE) in which the epithet is defined as the "adjective denoting a prototypical quality of the noun which it modifies and which does not exercise a restrictive function ".

Thus, we can say that the epithets

express innate qualities or characteristics to the name they accompany; that is, these characteristics are understood or are directly associated with the corresponding noun. In this way, the epithet is a type of adjective that can be elided within the noun phrase or within the sentence without altering the meaning in any way. For example, the noun phrase "White snow"in which we can eliminate the epithet" white "because we all infer that snow, as a general rule, is white.

Therefore, epithets do not differentiate or highlight the noun they accompany, since they only reflect or enhance a quality intrinsic to the noun. For this reason, the epithet is a literary figure very recurrent throughout all Spanish literature, since it allows to embellish the message by highlighting the qualities of each noun. For example, "burning fire", when all fire burns and is therefore fiery.

However, when using the epithet we focus the reader's attention on this quality of fire above any other, such as, for example, the fact of giving light or illuminating a place. One of the Spanish authors who most resorts to the use of the epithet in his lyrical compositions is Garcilaso de la Vega.

Epithets are adjectives that fall within the group of adjectives, since they are adjustable and are used to indicate a quality of the noun they accompany, although this quality is understood and it is not necessary to name it for the sentence to have sense.

Next we will see some examples of epithets taken from literary texts:

• White your burning fire and cold ice (Fernando de Herrera)
• For you the green grass, the fresh wind, / the white lily and the red rose / and sweet spring wished ... (Garcilaso de la Vega)
• To the brave steel, to the cold marble ... (Francisco de Quevedo)
• The thorny brambles and pointed charcoal pits (Miguel de Cervantes)
• Save the true forest green (Garcilaso de la Vega)
• Where a clear water with sound / crossed the brake and green meadow (Garcilaso de la Vega)
• Which is left lirio bank when he loses / his sweet life among the green grass (Garcilaso de la Vega)
• There is still a place where, / winters are white, / the blue waters and the green forest (P. del Castillo)

In this other lesson we will discover the different types of qualifying adjectives in Spanish.