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metalepsis

[ met-uh-lep-sis ]
/ ˌmɛt əˈlɛp sɪs /
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noun, plural met·a·lep·ses [met-uh-lep-seez]. /ˌmɛt əˈlɛp siz/. Rhetoric.
the use of metonymy to replace a word already used figuratively.
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Origin of metalepsis

1580–90; <Latin <Greek metálēpsis, equivalent to meta-meta- + lēp-, variant stem of lambánein to take + -sis-sis

OTHER WORDS FROM metalepsis

met·a·lep·tic, met·a·lep·ti·cal, adjectivemet·a·lep·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby metalepsis

metagnathous, metal, metalanguage, metalcrafting, metal detector, metalepsis, metal-free phthalocyanine, metalhead, metalinguistic, metalinguistics, metalist
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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