Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “metaphoric” come from?

Metaphoric derives from French -ique, Latin -icus, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, ultimately combining Ancient Greek μετά (meta, beyond) and φέρω (pherō, to carry), from Proto-Indo-European bʰer-.

metaphoric (English): Like a metaphor

Definitions

  1. Like a metaphor

Ancestry of “metaphoric”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-icUsed to form adjectives from nouns with the...
2EnglishimageAn optical or other representation of a real...
3Frenchimagepicture, image; frame; first-person singular...
4Portugueseimagemimage; picture; figure; image; image; face
5Spanishimagenimage
6Italianimmagineimage; imago
7Latinimāginem—
8Latinim-Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in
9Latinīn-—
10Latinîn—
11Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
12Proto-Italicenin
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “metaphoric”

  • metaphoricity
  • nonmetaphoric
  • unmetaphoric
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →