byword
/ˈbaɪ.wɚd/noun
byword is spelled B-Y-W-O-R-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, byword means “A proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of byword is bywords.
How many letters and syllables are in byword?
| Letters | 6: B-Y-W-O-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 80,453rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is byword?
Byword appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce byword?
- UK /ˈbaɪ.wə(ɹ)d/
- US /ˈbaɪ.wɚd/
Byword has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vanderdecken-byword.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of byword
- bywords plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does byword mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase.
- 2
A characteristic word or expression; a word or phrase associated with a person or group.
- 3
Someone or something that stands as an example (i.e. metonymically) for something else, by having some of that something's characteristic traits.
- 4
An object of notoriety or contempt, scorn or derision.
- 5
A nickname or epithet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Byword in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a proverb:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | proverbe |
| German | Sprichwort |
| Portuguese | dito |
| Spanish | refrán, proverbio, estribillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does byword come from?
From Middle English byword, byworde (“proverb”), from Old English bīword, bīwyrd, bīwyrde (“proverb, household word", also "adverb”), from Proto-West Germanic *bīwurdī, equivalent to by- + word. Compare Latin proverbium, which byword may possibly be a translation of. Cognate with Old High German pīwurti (“proverb”). Compare also Old English bīspel (“proverb, example”), bīcwide (“byword, proverb, tale, fable”), Dutch bijwoord (“adverb”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).