Ap*pel"la*tive (&?;), a. [L.
appellativus, fr. appellare: cf. F. appelatif. See
Appeal.] 1. Pertaining to a common name;
serving as a distinctive denomination; denominative; naming.
Cudworth.
2. (Gram.) Common, as opposed to
proper; denominative of a class.
Ap*pel"la*tive, n. [L. appelativum,
sc. nomen.] 1. A common name, in distinction
from a proper name. A common name, or appellative, stands for a
whole class, genus, or species of beings, or for universal ideas. Thus,
tree is the name of all plants of a particular class; plant
and vegetable are names of things that grow out of the earth. A
proper name, on the other hand, stands for a single thing; as, Rome,
Washington, Lake Erie.
2. An appellation or title; a descriptive
name.
God chosen it for one of his appellatives to be the
Defender of them.
Jer. Taylor.
