metaphor

metaphor
metaphor met"a*phor` (m[e^]t"[.a]*f[^o]r` or m[e^]t"[.a]*f[~e]r), n. [F. m['e]taphore, L. metaphora, fr. Gr. metafora`, fr. metafe`rein to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear.] (Rhet.) The transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation; a compressed simile; e. g., the ship plows the sea. --Abbott & Seeley. ``All the world's a stage.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Note: The statement, ``that man is a fox,'' is a metaphor; but ``that man is like a fox,'' is a simile, similitude, or comparison. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
(without the signs of comparison), (expressed in a word)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • metaphor — [met′ə fôr΄] n. [Fr métaphore < L metaphora < Gr < metapherein, to carry over < meta, over (see META ) + pherein, to BEAR1] a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used… …   English World dictionary

  • metaphor — index example Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • metaphor — (n.) late 15c., from M.Fr. metaphore (O.Fr. metafore, 13c.), and directly from L. metaphora, from Gk. metaphora a transfer, especially of the sense of one word to a different word, lit. a carrying over, from metapherein transfer, carry over;… …   Etymology dictionary

  • metaphor — simile, *analogy …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • metaphor — [n] figure of speech, implied comparison allegory, analogy, emblem, hope, image, metonymy, personification, similitude, symbol, trope; concept 275 Ant. plain speech …   New thesaurus

  • metaphor — ► NOUN 1) a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable (e.g. food for thought). 2) a thing symbolic of something else. ORIGIN from Greek, from metapherein to transfer …   English terms dictionary

  • Metaphor — This article is about the figure of speech. For other uses, see Metaphor (disambiguation). A political cartoon from an 1894 Puck magazine by illustrator S.D. Ehrhart, shows a farm woman labeled Democratic Party sheltering from a tornado of… …   Wikipedia

  • metaphor — metaphorical /met euh fawr i keuhl, for /, metaphoric, adj. metaphorically, adv. metaphoricalness, n. /met euh fawr , feuhr/, n. 1. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in… …   Universalium

  • metaphor — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ appropriate, apt, good, perfect ▪ powerful, striking ▪ useful ▪ central …   Collocations dictionary

  • Metaphor — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Metaphor >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 figure of speech figure of speech Sgm: N 1 facon de parler facon de parler =>(French) way of speaking colloquialism GRP: N 2 Sgm: N 2 phrase phrase &c. 566 Sgm: N 2 …   English dictionary for students

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