metaphor

met·a·phor

Gary's boss used the metaphor 'Time is money' when addressing him about his lateness.

noun

The definition of a metaphor is a word or phrase used to compare two unlike objects, ideas, thoughts or feelings to provide a clearer description.

An example of a metaphor is calling the dependable father a rock.

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"metaphor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor>.

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metaphor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor

metaphor

a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another (Ex.: the curtain of night, “all the world's a stage”)

Origin of metaphor

French métaphore from Classical Latin metaphora from Classical Greek from metapherein, to carry over from meta, over (see meta-) + pherein, to bear

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"metaphor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor>.

APA Style

metaphor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor

metaphor

noun

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” ( Shakespeare )
One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven” ( Neal Gabler )

Origin of metaphor

Middle English methaphor from Old French metaphore from Latin metaphora from Greek transference, metaphor from metapherein to transfer meta- meta- pherein to carry ; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

met′a·phor′ic met′a·phor′i·cal
adjective

met′a·phor′i·cal·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"metaphor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor>.

APA Style

metaphor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural metaphors)

(uncountable, rhetoric) The use of a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn't, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described, but in the case of English without the words like or as, which would imply a simile.
(countable, rhetoric) The word or phrase used in this way. An implied comparison.

Origin

From Latin metaphora, from Ancient Greek Î¼ÎµÏ„Î±Ï†Î¿ÏÎ¬ (metaphora), from Î¼ÎµÏ„Î±Ï†ÎÏÏ‰ (metapherÅ, “I transfer, apply"), from Î¼ÎµÏ„Î¬ (meta, “with, across, after") + Ï†ÎÏÏ‰ (pherÅ, “I bear, carry")

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"metaphor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor>.

APA Style

metaphor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Metaphor

metaphor - Computer Definition

The derivation of metaphor means "to carry over." For example, the "desktop metaphor" means that the office desktop has been simulated on computers. See paradigm.

Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.