\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.