01 n. A common saying; a proverb; a saying that has a general currency.
-
1.
A common saying; a proverb; a saying that has a general currency.“I knew a wise man that had it for a byword.” — Bacon.
-
2.
The object of a contemptuous saying.“Thou makest us a byword among the heathen.” — Ps. xliv. 14