define transferred epithet
A transferred epithet is a type of metaphorical language in which an adjective or other modifier is applied to something other than to what it literally refers. The concept is synonymous with hypallage and closely related to other literary terms, such as personification and metonymy.he most common usage of the word refers to an insulting or disparaging phrase, as in  racial epithet .. In this instance, however, epithet has the mostly obsolete meaning of expression or description.. A transferred epithet, then, is a description that is transferred onto something else.