metaphoricity
|met-a-pho-ric-i-ty|
/ˌmɛtəfəˈrɪsɪti/
degree of being metaphorical
Etymology
'metaphoricity' originates from English, formed from 'metaphoric' + the suffix '-ity', where 'metaphoric' derives from 'metaphor' (Greek 'metaphora') meaning 'a carrying over/transfer', and '-ity' (from Latin '-itas') denotes 'state or condition'.
'metaphoricity' developed in Modern English by adding the Latinate suffix '-ity' to the adjective 'metaphoric' (itself from 'metaphor' borrowed via Latin/Old French from Greek 'metaphora'), producing a noun meaning the state or degree of being metaphoric.
Initially the components referred to 'transfer' (Greek 'metaphora') and a 'state' (Latin '-itas'); over time they combined in English to mean 'the state or degree of being metaphorical', which is the current sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the quality or state of being metaphorical; the extent to which language, thought, or expression is based on or uses metaphors.
The metaphoricity of her prose invites varied interpretations.
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Noun 2
the degree or measure of how metaphorical a particular expression, text, or discourse is (often used in literary or linguistic analysis).
Scholars measured the metaphoricity of the corpus to compare different authors' styles.
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Last updated: 2025/11/20 17:20