metaphor en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɛt.ə.fə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (California) audio
- /ˈmɛt.ə.fɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈmɛɾ.ə.foɹ] (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈmɛt.ə.fɚ/ (US, rare)
- /ˈmɛt.ə.foɹ/ (Canada, General-American)
- (London) audio
- [ˈmɛɾ.ə.fɚ] (US, rare)
Etymology
From Middle French métaphore, from Latin metaphora, from Ancient Greek μεταφορά (metaphorá), from μεταφέρω (metaphérō, “to transfer, apply”), from μετά (metá, “with, across, after”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).
Meanings
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(rhetoric, uncountable) The use of a word, phrase, concept, or set of concepts to refer to something other than its literal meaning, invoking an implicit similarity between the thing described and what is denoted by the word, etc., that is used.
The next group of computational approaches to metaphor assume that metaphor is basically a hidden analogy.
2013, Eileen Cornell Way, Knowledge Representation and Metaphor, page 157:
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(countable, rhetoric) A word or phrase used in such implied comparison.
A Metaphor, in place of proper words, Resemblance puts; and dress to speech affords.
1835, L[arret] Langley, “[The Seven Tropes.] Metaphor.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 3:A Metaphor may be changed into a Simile, and also into plain language, containing neither metaphor nor simile. Thus: Metaphor. — Idleness is the rust of the soul. Simile. — As rust is to iron, so is idleness to the soul, taking away its strength and power of resistance. Plain. — Idleness takes away from the soul its strength and power of resistance.
1874, John Seely Hart, First Lessons in Composition, page 92:The metaphor is both the subtitle to a paper that Kevin Nadal, professor of psychology at John Jay College, wrote about the impact of microaggressions on L.G.B.T.Q. youth, and the title of another paper on the health implications of black respectability politics by Hedwig Lee, professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Margaret Takako Hicken, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
2020 March 3, Hahna Yoon, “How to Respond to Microaggressions”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2020:To torture the metaphor, though, they’re sitting at a table outside the Nazi bar; their friends are there, they’re having a good time, maybe they hear a slur emanate from the window from time to time.
2025 May 23, Charlie Warzel, “What Are People Still Doing on X?”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 24 May 2025:1979, Daniel Breazeale (translator), Friedrich Nietzsche, On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense [1873, Über Wahrheit und Lüge im außermoralischen Sinn], in Philosophy and Truth, page 84, quoted in 1998, Ian Markham, Truth and the Reality of God: An Essay in Natural Theology, page 103, What then is truth? A movable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and rhetorically intensified, transferred, and embellished, and which, after long usage, seems to a people to be fixed, canonical, and binding. Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions; they are metaphors that have become worn out and have been drained of sensuous force, coins which have lost their embossing and are now considered as metal and no longer as coins.
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(countable) The use of an everyday object or concept to represent an underlying facet of the computer and thus aid users in performing tasks.
desktop metaphor, wastebasket metaphor
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| metaphors | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
conceptual metaphor · metaphorics · malaphor · metaphorization · stale metaphor · metaphoric · metaphorism · extended metaphor · dead metaphor · metaphorology · metaphorist · mixed metaphor · metaphoricity · metaphorical extension · metaphorical · metaphoreme · metaphorician · metaphorically · metaphorize · supermetaphor
Descendants
Hypernyms
Relateds
metonymy · analogy · simile · allegory · idiom · skeuomorphism · metonym
Translations (130)
sh мета̀фора (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · az istiarə (uncountable: figure of speech) · it metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · da metafor (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 比喩 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · pl metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 象徴 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · nl metafoor (uncountable: figure of speech) · hi रूपक (uncountable: figure of speech) · gl metáfora (uncountable: figure of speech) · tt метафора (uncountable: figure of speech) · ms metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · ka მეტაფორა (uncountable: figure of speech) · ar اِسْتِعَارَة (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 比喩 (uncountable: figure of speech) · pt metáfora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · nb metafor (uncountable: figure of speech) · lv metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · grc μεταφορά (uncountable: figure of speech) · cs metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · es metáfora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · az metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · th อุปมา (uncountable: figure of speech) · sl metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · es metáfora (uncountable: figure of speech) · pl metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · tl metapora (uncountable: figure of speech) · nn metafor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · mn зүйрлэл (uncountable: figure of speech) · lt metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · de Metapher (uncountable: figure of speech) · ur استعارہ (uncountable: figure of speech) · ko 비유 (uncountable: figure of speech) · fa مجاز (uncountable: figure of speech) · hu hasonlóságon alapuló névátvitel (uncountable: figure of speech) · sh metàfora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · km ធម្មារម្មណ៍ (uncountable: figure of speech) · ro metaforă (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · ru мета́фора (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · de Metapher (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · th อุปลักษณ์ (uncountable: figure of speech) · bg метафора (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · grc μεταφορά (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · uz istiora (uncountable: figure of speech) · tg истиора (uncountable: figure of speech) · ky метафора (uncountable: figure of speech) · pl przenośnia (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · cmn 比擬 /比拟 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · ko 은유 (uncountable: figure of speech) · sw sitiari (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · it metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · ko 암유 (uncountable: figure of speech) · it tropo (uncountable: figure of speech) · cy trosiad (uncountable: figure of speech) · fr métaphore (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · id majas (uncountable: figure of speech) · fi metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · cmn 象徵 /象征 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · fa استعاره (uncountable: figure of speech) · lo ຄຳອຸບປະມາ (uncountable: figure of speech) · sl metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · nl metafoor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · tr metafor (uncountable: figure of speech) · uk мета́фора (uncountable: figure of speech) · mi kupu whakarite (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 隠喩 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · el μεταφορά (uncountable: figure of speech) · el μεταφορά (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · id kiasan (uncountable: figure of speech) · sh metàfora (uncountable: figure of speech) · az məcaz (uncountable: figure of speech) · nl beeldspraak (uncountable: figure of speech) · tr metafor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · be мета́фара (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 隠喩 (uncountable: figure of speech) · sh мета̀фора (uncountable: figure of speech) · yi מעטאַפֿאָר (uncountable: figure of speech) · hu metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · id metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · sv metafor (uncountable: figure of speech) · hy մետաֆոր (uncountable: figure of speech) · nn metafor (uncountable: figure of speech) · sq metaforë (uncountable: figure of speech) · fr métaphore (uncountable: figure of speech) · vi phép ẩn dụ (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · mi huahuatau (uncountable: figure of speech) · bg мета́фора (uncountable: figure of speech) · mk мета́фора (uncountable: figure of speech) · sk metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · it figura retorica (uncountable: figure of speech) · kk метафора (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja メタファー (uncountable: figure of speech) · cmn 比喻 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · ca metàfora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · eo metaforo (uncountable: figure of speech) · da metafor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · cs metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · nl vergelijking (uncountable: figure of speech) · nb metafor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · is myndlíking (uncountable: figure of speech) · ja 暗喩 (uncountable: figure of speech) · lo ຄໍາອຸປະມາ (uncountable: figure of speech) · af metafoor (uncountable: figure of speech) · he מֶטָפוֹרָה (uncountable: figure of speech) · yue 比喻 (uncountable: figure of speech) · vi ẩn dụ (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · pt metáfora (uncountable: figure of speech) · af metafoor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · fi metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · pl przenośnia (uncountable: figure of speech) · cmn 比喻 (uncountable: figure of speech) · sv metafor (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · th อุปไมย (uncountable: figure of speech) · ga meafar (uncountable: figure of speech) · ru мета́фора (uncountable: figure of speech) · vi ẩn dụ (uncountable: figure of speech) · tg маҷоз (uncountable: figure of speech) · et metafoor (uncountable: figure of speech) · ro metaforă (uncountable: figure of speech) · tr istiare (uncountable: figure of speech) · id metafora (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · is myndhverfing (uncountable: figure of speech) · eo metaforo (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · tr mecaz (uncountable: figure of speech) · uz metafora (uncountable: figure of speech) · hy փոխաբերություն (uncountable: figure of speech) · kn ರೂಪಕ (uncountable: figure of speech) · uz majoz (uncountable: figure of speech) · cmn 隱喻 /隐喻 (countable: word or phrase used in metaphor) · my ရူပကအလင်္ကာ (uncountable: figure of speech)