An epithet (from Greek: ἐπίθετον epitheton, neut. of ἐπίθετος epithetos, "attributed, added") is a byname, or a descriptive term (word or phrase), accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It can be described as a glorified nickname. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It can also be a descriptive title: for example, Alexander the Great or Suleiman the Magnificent.In contemporary use, epithet often refers to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory phrase, such as a racial epithet. This use as a euphemism is criticized by Martin Manser and other prescriptive linguists.