Antonomasia


rhetoric. the identification of a person by an epithet or appellative that is not the person’s name, as his lordship.
the use of the name of a person who was distinguished by a particular characteristic, as don juan or annie oakley, to designate a person or group of persons having the same characteristic.
historical examples

antonomasia is, whych for ye proper name putteth some other word: as: the archebyshop confuted the errour, for cranmer.
a treatise of schemes and tropes richard sherry

noun (rhetoric)
the subst-tution of a t-tle or epithet for a proper name, such as his highness
the use of a proper name for an idea: he is a daniel come to judgment
n.

use of an epithet for a proper name (or vice versa; e.g. his holiness for the name of a pope), 1580s, from latin, from greek antonomasia, from antonomazein “to name instead, call by a new name,” from anti “instead” (see anti-) + onomazein “to name,” from onoma “name” (see name (n.)).

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