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Behold how Christ is the foundation of the church and the apostles are the foundations! Christ is by a figure of speech - antonomastice - the foundation because the edifice of the church begins from him and is finished in him and through him. But the prophets and apostles are the foundations because their authority bears up our weakness.
Jan Hus

Meaning of "figure of speech" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF FIGURE OF SPEECH

figure of speech play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FIGURE OF SPEECH

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Figure of speech is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES FIGURE OF SPEECH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Figure of speech

A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which transcends its literal interpretation. It can be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, or synecdoche. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution. Rhetoric originated as the study of the ways in which a source text can be transformed to suit the goals of the person reusing the material. For this goal, classical rhetoric detected four fundamental operations that can be used to transform a sentence or a larger portion of a text: expansion, abridgement, switching, transferring and so on.

Definition of figure of speech in the English dictionary

The definition of figure of speech in the dictionary is an expression of language, such as simile, metaphor, or personification, by which the usual or literal meaning of a word is not employed.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE FIGURE OF SPEECH

figure
figure eight
figure of eight
figure of fun
figure of merit
figure on
figure out
figure skater
figure skating
figure-conscious
figure-ground phenomenon
figure-hugging
figure-skate
figured
figured bass
figuredly
figurehead
figureless
figurer
figurework

WORDS THAT END LIKE FIGURE OF SPEECH

acceptance speech
beech
budget speech
curtain speech
deaf without speech
direct speech
free speech
hate speech
indirect speech
keynote speech
King´s speech
leech
maiden speech
nonspeech
part of speech
Queen´s speech
reported speech
speech
stump speech
visible speech

Synonyms and antonyms of figure of speech in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «FIGURE OF SPEECH»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «figure of speech» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of figure of speech

Translation of «figure of speech» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF FIGURE OF SPEECH

Find out the translation of figure of speech to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of figure of speech from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «figure of speech» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

演讲图
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

figura retórica
570 millions of speakers

English

figure of speech
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

भाषण का आंकड़ा
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

مجازي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

фигура речи
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

figura de linguagem
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ভাষালঙ্কার
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

figure de style
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tokoh ucapan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Redefigur
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

言葉のあや
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

언론의 그림
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tokoh wicara
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

con số của bài phát biểu
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

பேச்சு எண்ணிக்கை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

भाषण आकृती
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Konuşma şekli
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

figura retorica
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

przenośnia
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

фігура мови
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

figură de stil
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

σχήμα λόγου
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

figuur van spraak
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

tale
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

talemåte
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of figure of speech

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «FIGURE OF SPEECH»

The term «figure of speech» is regularly used and occupies the 101.890 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
53
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «figure of speech» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of figure of speech
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «figure of speech».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «FIGURE OF SPEECH» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «figure of speech» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «figure of speech» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about figure of speech

EXAMPLES

4 QUOTES WITH «FIGURE OF SPEECH»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word figure of speech.
1
Jan Hus
Behold how Christ is the foundation of the church and the apostles are the foundations! Christ is by a figure of speech - antonomastice - the foundation because the edifice of the church begins from him and is finished in him and through him. But the prophets and apostles are the foundations because their authority bears up our weakness.
2
Franklin P. Jones
You're an old-timer if you can remember when setting the world on fire was a figure of speech.
3
Edward M. Lerner
In mainstream literature, a trope is a figure of speech: metaphor, simile, irony, or the like. Words used other than literally. In SF, a trope - at least as I understand the usage - is more: science used other than literally.
4
Raymond Moody
Dying, we tell ourselves, is like going to sleep. This figure of speech occurs very commonly in everyday thought and language, as well as in the literature of many cultures and many ages. It was apparently quite common even in the time of the ancient Greeks.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FIGURE OF SPEECH»

Discover the use of figure of speech in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to figure of speech and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Figures of Speech: 60 Ways To Turn A Phrase
First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Arthur Quinn, 2012
2
A Figure of Speech: A Festschrift for John Laver
A Festschrift for John Laver William J. Hardcastle, Janet Mackenzie Beck. speech ,' because it is by definition not yet represented. Obviously this is difficult to talk about, because to describe it is to represent it, thus rendering it no longer 'raw.
William J. Hardcastle, Janet Mackenzie Beck, 2014
3
A Figure of Speech: A Political Memoir
From a young boy growing up in Brisbane, to his time as a speech writer from Calwell to Carr, this book will look at those legendary people; friends and foes he has influenced.
Nicholas Freudenberg, Graham</p> Freudenberg, 2011
4
Renaissance Figures of Speech
As Renaissance critics recognised, figurative language is the key area of intersection between rhetoric and literature. This book is the first modern account of Renaissance rhetoric to focus solely on the figures of speech.
Sylvia Adamson, Gavin Alexander, Katrin Ettenhuber, 2007
5
Figures of Speech Or Figures of Thought?: The Traditional ...
This new edition of Coomaraswamy's classic book, considered his most important work on the philosophy of art, includes all of the revisions Coomaraswamy had wanted to add to the original edition.
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, William Wroth, 2007
6
Text and Visuality: Word & Image Interactions 3
The Ekphrastic Figure of Speech Tamar Yacobi Ekphrasis is generally considered a literal mimesis of its art-object. In practice, however, ekphrasis often doubles as a figure of speech (a metaphor, a simile, etc.), thus compounding various ...
Martin Heusser, 1999
7
Creative Writing
Though both, a trope and a figure of speech can be understood as a departure from literal language, as 'figurative language', there is a distinction between them. While tropes are regarded as figures of thought that change the meaning of ...
Dev Anjana Neira, 2008
8
Enigmas and Riddles in Literature
A wide-ranging and original study on how enigmas and riddles work in literature.
Eleanor Cook, 2006
9
It Figures!: Fun Figures of Speech
Introduces and explains common figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole with guidelines for their use and illustrative examples.
Marvin Terban, 1993
10
The Metamorphosis
Kafka metamorphoses a figure of speech embedded in ordinary language. The intent is to make strange the familiar, not to invent the new; Kafka's diaries for the period around 1912 show that his created metaphors are more complex than ...
Harold Bloom, 2007

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FIGURE OF SPEECH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term figure of speech is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Supreme Court Ruling has no effect on Borderland plants
EL PASO, Texas – Burning the midnight oil is now more than a figure of speech for Texas energy companies. The Supreme Court has struck ... «KFOX El Paso, Jul 15»
2
Bolivia: Pope Francis addresses World Meeting of Popular …
The universal destination of goods is not a figure of speech found in the Church's social teaching. It is a reality prior to private property. Property ... «Independent Catholic News, Jul 15»
3
Making a splash
SINGAPORE — “Break a leg” is a figure of speech in the theatre world, used to wish a performer good luck. It is not that performers are more ... «TODAYonline, Jul 15»
4
The Virtue of Pride
I shall focus on the figure of speech, "stiffnecked" (qesheh `oreph). Stiffnecked people are stubborn, as a mule is stubborn. They are unwilling to ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»
5
The American's Left's blond-haired, blue-eyed fantasyland
It is, rather, an exclusionary solidarity, a superstitious notion that understands “body politic” not as a mere figure of speech but as a substantive ... «National Review Online, Jul 15»
6
'Schoolhouse' rocks: A beloved series of educational cartoons goes …
If you don't know, “Conjunction Junction” is a short animated music video designed to teach kids about the figure of speech known as the ... «Santa Cruz Sentinel, Jul 15»
7
Greek debt crisis: Fear and loathing in Europe media
And this time it's not a figure of speech," the paper says. Italy's La Repubblica highlights the European Union's "tough position" on Greece, ... «BBC News, Jul 15»
8
Koihime Enbu for PS4, PS3 debut trailer
... other day but just assumed you were using a strange figure of speech. ... of it lol. no…no figure of speech. i am a bit obsessed with fighters….i ... «Gematsu, Jul 15»
9
Oxford biz owner reaches summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro
July 08, 2015 - When Paul Barr says he's been to the mountaintop, it's not just a figure of speech. At approximately 6 a.m. Wednesday, July 1, he reached the ... «Clarkston News, Jul 15»
10
Immigration News: Immigration Advocacy Group Urges …
The term "coming out" -- a shortened version of "coming out of the closet" -- is often used as a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual and, ... «Latin Post, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Figure of speech [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/figure-of-speech>. Apr 2024 ».
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