Epitheting

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of using specific words or labels to highlight certain features or attributes of a subject occurs through the act of assigning characteristic names or descriptors
2. Involves the practice of attributing names or descriptive identifiers that serve to clarify or emphasize the qualities of an entity
3. The act of designating descriptive terms to convey particular characteristics or traits of someone or something is a key aspect of this process

Etymology: The gerund "epitheting" is built from "epithet", whose Greek ancestor literally meant "something put on top". In ancient Greek, "epitheton" was the neuter of "epithetos", "additional", from "epitithēmi", "to add on", which combines "epi-", "in addition", with "tithēmi", "to put". A label was, quite literally, a thing set upon a name. The Greek word passed into Latin as "epitheton" and "epithetum", and from there through Middle French "épithète" into English. The Latin and English forms are doublets: the Latin "epitheton" was kept as a learned borrowing, while the English "epithet" arrived via French, so the two look and sound slightly different despite sharing a source. Verbs and nouns ending in "-ing" built from "epithet" follow the same pattern as any other English verb. "Epitheting" names the act of attaching such descriptive tags, so it carries the original Greek image of adding something on top of a name.