tropes

[trohp] Origin

trope

[trohp]
noun
1.
Rhetoric.
a.
any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense.
b.
an instance of this. Compare figure of speech.
2.
a phrase, sentence, or verse formerly interpolated in a liturgical text to amplify or embellish.
3.
(in the philosophy of Santayana) the principle of organization according to which matter moves to form an object during the various stages of its existence.

Origin:
1525–35; < Latin tropus figure in rhetoric < Greek trópos turn, turning, turn or figure of speech, akin to trépein to turn
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Tropes is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

trope
1533, from L. tropus "a figure of speech," from Gk. tropos "turn, direction, turn or figure of speech," related to trope "a turning" and trepein "to turn," from PIE base trep- "to turn" (cf. Skt. trapate "is ashamed, confused," prop. "turns away in shame;" L. trepit "he turns"). Technically, in rhetoric,
EXPAND
a figure of speech which consists in the use of a word or phrase in a sense other than that which is proper to it.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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