n. [ AS. bïword; bï, E. by + word. ] 1. A common saying; a proverb; a saying that has a general currency. [ 1913 Webster ]
I knew a wise man that had it for a byword. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. The object of a contemptuous saying. [ 1913 Webster ]
Thou makest us a byword among the heathen. Ps. xliv. 14 [ 1913 Webster ]