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prosopopeia

 - 4 dictionary results

pro⋅so⋅po⋅poe⋅ia

  [proh-soh-puh-pee-uh]
Use prosopopeia in a Sentence
–noun Rhetoric.
1. personification, as of inanimate things.
2. a figure of speech in which an imaginary, absent, or deceased person is represented as speaking or acting.
Also, pro⋅so⋅po⋅pe⋅ia.

Origin:
1555–65; < L prosōpopoeia < Gk prosōpopoiía personification, equiv. to prósōpo(n) face, person + poi(eîn) to make + -ia -ia

Related forms:
pro⋅so⋅po⋅poe⋅ial, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·son·i·fi·ca·tion   (pər-sŏn'ə-fĭ-kā'shən)   
n.  

  1. The act of personifying.

  2. A person or thing typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification: "He's invisible, a walking personification of the Negative" (Ralph Ellison).

  3. A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form, as in Hunger sat shivering on the road or Flowers danced about the lawn. Also called prosopopeia.

  4. Artistic representation of an abstract quality or idea as a person.

pro·so·po·pe·ia also pro·so·po·poe·ia   (prə-sō'pə-pē'ə)   
n.  

  1. A figure of speech in which an absent or imaginary person is represented as speaking.

  2. See personification.


[Latin prosōpopoeia, from Greek prosōpopoiiā : prosōpon, face, mask, dramatic character (pros-, pros- + ōpon, face from ōps, ōp-, eye; see okw- in Indo-European roots) + poiein, to make; see kwei-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

prosopopeia 
1561, from Gk. prosopopoiia "the putting of speeches into the mouths of others," from prosopon "person, face" (lit. "that which is toward the eyes," from pros "to" + ops "eye, face") + poiein "make" (see poet). A rhetorical figure in which an imaginary or absent person is made to speak or act.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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