apologue

[ap-uh-lawg, -log]

See more synonyms for apologue on Thesaurus.com

noun

a didactic narrative; a moral fable.
an allegory.

Origin of apologue

1545–55; (< Middle French) < Latin apologus < Greek apólogos fable. See apo-, -logue

Related formsap·o·log·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for apologue

parable, allegory, story, fable

Examples from the Web for apologue

Historical Examples of apologue

And here, Socrates, I will leave the apologue and resume the argument.
Protagoras
Plato
I had no answer for the apologue—not even for the self-condemnatory tone in which he told it.
Aladdin & Co.
Herbert Quick
The anecdote was of the character of an apologue, and pertained to game.
Evan Harrington, Complete
George Meredith
This apologue pleased the Cardinal, though, in fact, it was very superficial.
The Duchess of Trajetto
Anne Manning
Length is not an essential matter in the definition of an apologue.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for apologue

apologue

noun

an allegory or moral fable

Word Origin for apologue

C17: from Latin, from Greek apologos

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apologue

"moral fable," 1550s, from French apologue, from Latin apologus, from Greek apologos, from apo- "off, away from" (see apo-) + logos "speech" (see lecture (n.)). Literally, "(that which comes) from a speech."