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.
© Webster 1913.
Ap*pel"la*tive, n. [L. appelativum, sc. nomen.]
1.
A common name, 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.
© Webster 1913.