[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/byword/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [B](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/b/) / byword

# byword

noun

«byword» in the English dictionary: in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In Jewish tradition

In Deuteronomy it is part of a warning that, if Israel breaks the covenant, other nations will mock them and use their name as a joke.

**Interpretation.** The tradition reads this as one of the curses of the rebuke. The rabbis also say that Israel's fate is bound up with how it keeps the covenant.

### Meaning

A saying or name that people use as a short example of something, often an example of something bad. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/#m1)

### Examples

- And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither the LORD shall lead thee away. (Torah DEU.28.37, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/#x1)
- I made sackcloth also my garment, and I became a byword unto them. (Writings PSA.69.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/#x2)
- And now I am become their song, yea, I am a byword unto them. (Writings JOB.30.9, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/#x3)
- Thou makest us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples. (Writings PSA.44.15, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/#x4)

### Note

A record of the Judaism dictionary, written from the corpus.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «byword» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/byword/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«byword» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/byword.html) on Mova free.