allegory - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: allegory

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

al·le·go·ry

Audio Help [al-uh-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ries.

1.	a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.

2.	a symbolical narrative: the allegory of Piers Plowman.

3.	emblem (def. 3).

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME allegorie < L allégoria < Gk allégoría, deriv. of allégoreǐn to speak so as to imply something other. See allo-, agora; Gk agoreúein to speak, proclaim, orig. meant to act (e.g., speak) in the assembly

]

—Synonyms 2. fable, parable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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allegory

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

al·le·go·ry Audio Help (āl'ĭ-gôr'ē, -gōr'ē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. al·le·go·ries

1. The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.
2. A story, picture, or play employing such representation. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are allegories.
A symbolic representation: The blindfolded figure with scales is an allegory of justice.

[Middle English allegorie, from Latin allēgoria, from Greek, from allēgorein, to interpret allegorically : allos, other; see al-¹ in Indo-European roots + agoreuein, to speak publicly (from agora, marketplace; see ger- in Indo-European roots).]

al'le·go'rist n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
allegory

1382, from O.Fr. allegorie, from L. allegoria, from Gk. allegoria "description of one thing under the image of another," from allos "another, different" (see alias) + agoreuein "speak openly, speak in the assembly," from agora "assembly."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

allegory
noun
1.	a short moral story (often with animal characters) [syn: fable]
2.	a visible symbol representing an abstract idea [syn: emblem]
3.	an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
allegory [(al-uh-gawr-ee)]

A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several symbols or metaphors. For example, in The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, the character named Christian struggles to escape from a bog or swamp. The story of his difficulty is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good life in the “bog” of this world. The “bog” is a metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back, this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of sin that he has been carrying.

[Chapter:] Conventions of Written English

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Allegory

Al`le*gor"ic\, Allegorical \Al`le*gor"ic*al\, a. [F. all['e]gorique, L. allegorius, fr. Gr. ?. See Allegory.] Belonging to, or consisting of, allegory; of the nature of an allegory; describing by resemblances; figurative. "An allegoric tale." --Falconer. "An allegorical application." --Pope.

Allegorical being . . . that kind of language which says one thing, but means another. --Max Miller. Al`le*gor"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Al`le*gor"ic*al*ness, n.

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