Metaphoricalized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a concept or term that has been transformed from its literal meaning to represent an abstract idea or symbolic notion
2. Referring to language or expressions that have been changed from their original, concrete sense into figurative or symbolic usage to convey deeper significance
3. Characterizing words or phrases that have undergone a shift from strict, direct interpretation to serve as a metaphor illustrating broader or nonliteral meanings

Etymology: "Metaphoricalized" is a straightforward formation rather than a word with a dramatic backstory. It is built from "metaphorical," the adjective from "metaphor," plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize" (in its British spelling "-ise"), which in turn gives the past-tense and adjectival "-ed." "Metaphor" entered English in the 1500s from Latin "metaphora," borrowed from Greek "metaphora," meaning "a transfer," from "metapherein," "to carry over." That sense of carrying something across from one place to another is what the word still preserves. The suffix "-ize" came into English through Latin and Greek "-izein," and it has been used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat as" something. "Metaphoricalize" follows this pattern: to treat a literal thing as a metaphor, or to give it symbolic meaning. The form is a modern, largely formal coinage, and it is rare in general use, which is why dictionaries often list it only as a derived form rather than as a headword with its own history.

Synonyms: figurative, symbolized, allegorized, imagined, represented

Antonyms: literal, literalized, unfigurative