Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

metalepsis

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
met-alep-sis
IPA
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rhetorical device whereby one word is metonymically substituted for another word which is itself a metonym; more broadly, a metaphor consisting of a series of embedded metonyms or rhetorical substitutions.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From Latin metalēpsis, from Ancient Greek μετάληψις (metálēpsis, “succession”), from Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “after”) and λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: metalēpsis, μετάληψις, μετά

Usage

Inflected Forms

metalepses (plural)

Synonyms

transumption

Questions

What does metalepsis mean?
A rhetorical device whereby one word is metonymically substituted for another word which is itself a metonym; more broadly, a metaphor consisting of a series of embedded metonyms or rhetorical substitutions.
Where does metalepsis come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce metalepsis

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