metalepsis
metalepsis 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.
Noun
metalepsis (countable and uncountable, plural metalepses)
- 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.
- Synonyms:
- transumption
Synonyms of metalepsis
Forms of metalepsis
| plural | metalepses |
|---|
Origin of metalepsis
From Latin metalēpsis, from Ancient Greek μετάληψις (metálēpsis, “succession”), from Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “after”) and λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).
Questions about metalepsis
- What does metalepsis mean?
- Metalepsis means 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.
- What part of speech is metalepsis?
- Metalepsis is a noun.
- What is the plural of metalepsis?
- The plural of metalepsis is metalepses.
Words near metalepsis in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: metalepsis (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “metalepsis.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/metalepsis. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.