Commonly Confused Words: 'epitaph' versus 'epithet.'
Today, we’ll be looking at the difference between two commonly-confused words related to the written and verbal phrases we use to refer to others: epitaph and epithet.
An epitaph is defined as either "a short composition in prose or verse, written as a tribute to a dead person" or “an inscription on a tomb or gravestone in memory of the person buried there." In short, it is a written work that serves as a memorial to someone who has died.
An example of the first definition:
“‘The entire kingdom mourns the sinking of His Majesty’s ship, but not I,’” read Lara from the soldier’s diary. “‘I say good riddance-let him rot in his watery grave!’”
“What a charming epitaph,” came Alister’s voice through her earpiece.
“Charming is one way to describe it,” she said.
And an example of the second definition:
“Hey, there’s some writing on the stone above the tomb. Can you read it?” said Zip through Lara’s earpiece.
She looked up. “Yes. It says, ‘Here lies Menmaatre Seti’-that’s Pharaoh Seti the first, father of Ramses-‘gallant warrior and mighty ruler of Egypt. May we honor him in death as we did in life.’”
“Well, it’s a nicer epitaph than His Majesty got, in any case,” said Alister.
An epithet is “an adjective, noun, or phrase, [usually] a disparaging one, used to characterize some person or thing.” In other words, it’s a kind of a nickname, and typically an insulting one at that.
An example:
Winston entered the library, phone in hand. “Lady Croft, Messrs. DuPont and Conway wish me to tell you that they ‘would like your payment on the Mars stone in cash, not check.’”
“Bribed by Frenchy and the Cowboy, of all people…” said Lara, shaking her head as she took the phone.
“Those are not very kind epithets, Ms. Croft,” came Pierre’s voice. “Larson and I do not use such names when referring to you.”
“Well, we do call her a-” Larson started to say but then gave a yelp, which was followed by Pierre hissing, “Shut up!”
For an in-depth look at how to write epithets effectively, check out green_grrl and chomiji's thorough entries on the subject, which are located here and here, respectively.
There is a second type of epithet, the specific epithet, which forms with the genus of a given organism to form that organism’s species name. Let’s take the tiger for example. The tiger’s species name is Panthera tigris; Panthera is the genus, and tigris is the specific epithet. Unlike the genus, the specific epithet cannot stand by itself as a name or label; it must be paired with the genus in order to create a valid name.
An example of the specific epithet on the go:
“Ah, a warthog,” said Professor Von Croy, indicating the carcass lying by the temple wall. “Let’s test your knowledge of zoology. What is this creature’s species name?”
Lara stared at the warthog. “Umm … something-africanus.”
Professor Von Croy snorted. “You give me the specific epithet only, and the specific epithet cannot stand without the genus, much less form the species name. The correct answer is Phacochoerus africanus. You’d do well to review your biology lessons.”
If you still have difficulty remembering which is which, just remember that epitaph has an a in the middle of it, like grave and dead.
Sources
Department of Biology @ the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Merriam-Webster
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition
An epitaph is defined as either "a short composition in prose or verse, written as a tribute to a dead person" or “an inscription on a tomb or gravestone in memory of the person buried there." In short, it is a written work that serves as a memorial to someone who has died.
An example of the first definition:
“‘The entire kingdom mourns the sinking of His Majesty’s ship, but not I,’” read Lara from the soldier’s diary. “‘I say good riddance-let him rot in his watery grave!’”
“What a charming epitaph,” came Alister’s voice through her earpiece.
“Charming is one way to describe it,” she said.
And an example of the second definition:
“Hey, there’s some writing on the stone above the tomb. Can you read it?” said Zip through Lara’s earpiece.
She looked up. “Yes. It says, ‘Here lies Menmaatre Seti’-that’s Pharaoh Seti the first, father of Ramses-‘gallant warrior and mighty ruler of Egypt. May we honor him in death as we did in life.’”
“Well, it’s a nicer epitaph than His Majesty got, in any case,” said Alister.
An epithet is “an adjective, noun, or phrase, [usually] a disparaging one, used to characterize some person or thing.” In other words, it’s a kind of a nickname, and typically an insulting one at that.
An example:
Winston entered the library, phone in hand. “Lady Croft, Messrs. DuPont and Conway wish me to tell you that they ‘would like your payment on the Mars stone in cash, not check.’”
“Bribed by Frenchy and the Cowboy, of all people…” said Lara, shaking her head as she took the phone.
“Those are not very kind epithets, Ms. Croft,” came Pierre’s voice. “Larson and I do not use such names when referring to you.”
“Well, we do call her a-” Larson started to say but then gave a yelp, which was followed by Pierre hissing, “Shut up!”
For an in-depth look at how to write epithets effectively, check out green_grrl and chomiji's thorough entries on the subject, which are located here and here, respectively.
There is a second type of epithet, the specific epithet, which forms with the genus of a given organism to form that organism’s species name. Let’s take the tiger for example. The tiger’s species name is Panthera tigris; Panthera is the genus, and tigris is the specific epithet. Unlike the genus, the specific epithet cannot stand by itself as a name or label; it must be paired with the genus in order to create a valid name.
An example of the specific epithet on the go:
“Ah, a warthog,” said Professor Von Croy, indicating the carcass lying by the temple wall. “Let’s test your knowledge of zoology. What is this creature’s species name?”
Lara stared at the warthog. “Umm … something-africanus.”
Professor Von Croy snorted. “You give me the specific epithet only, and the specific epithet cannot stand without the genus, much less form the species name. The correct answer is Phacochoerus africanus. You’d do well to review your biology lessons.”
If you still have difficulty remembering which is which, just remember that epitaph has an a in the middle of it, like grave and dead.
Sources
Department of Biology @ the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Merriam-Webster
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition