| metaphor |
| Definition - A figure of speech where something is described by using words that are not literally applicable. |
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Example - (1) Unmerciful people have hearts of steel. (2) Ideas are food for thought. |
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Etymology - The word ultimately derives from the Greek metaphora, a transfer (from meta, over or across + pherein, to carry or to bear). |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1533: "And rather then men would note a lye when they know what is meant, they will sooner by allegory or metaphor draw the word to the truth." (Hen. VIII in Wotton Lett. (1654) Suppl. 8) |
