onomasti komodein

Onomasti komodein ({{langx|grc|ὀνομαστὶ κωμῳδεῖν}}, onomastì kōmōideîn, "to ridicule by name in the manner of the comic poets") was an expression used in ancient GreeceAelius Aristides, vol. 2, pp. 117 and 298 Jebb; Hermogenes of Tarsus, On issues 11 (and the scholia, vol. 4, pp. 833, 837, 839-42, and vol. 7, pp. 668-74, 676-81 Walz); Gregory of Nyssa, Contra usuarios, vol. 9 p. 205 Gebhardt; Sopater Rhetor, vol 8, pp. 383-4 Walz; scholia to Aristophanes (Prolegomena on Comedy and on The Birds 1297); Cyrus rhetor, Differentiae statuum vol. 8, p. 1 Walz to denote a witty personal attack made with total freedom against the most notable individuals (see Aristophanes' attacks on Cleon, Socrates, Euripides) in order to expose their wrongful conduct.

An opinion which originated in the Peripatetic school is that onomasti komodein was the fundamental characterizing aspect of the ancient Greek comedy of the first period (known as Old Comedy).Mastromarco 1994 pp.21-22