The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Appellative \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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Gram.) Common, as opposed to proper; denominative of a
      class.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Appellative \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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An appellation or title; a descriptive name.
      [1913 Webster]

            God chosen it for one of his appellatives to be the
            Defender of them.                     --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

appellative
    adj 1: pertaining to or dealing with or used as a common noun
    2: inclined to or serving for the giving of names; "the
       appellative faculty of children"; "the appellative function
       of some primitive rites" [syn: appellative, naming(a)]
    n 1: identifying word or words by which someone or something is
         called and classified or distinguished from others [syn:
         appellation, denomination, designation,
         appellative]