A harsh or bad poet, used historically as a term of literary contempt.
From Bavius, the name of a notoriously bad Roman poet cited by Virgil and Horace in their works as an example of poor writing. The name became synonymous with mediocre or inept poetry through classical literary tradition.
Bavius is a 2,000-year-old insult—Roman poets hated him so much they named him in their verses, and scholars are still arguing about who he actually was, making him perhaps the most famous bad poet in literary history despite leaving almost no works behind.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.