metaphorical extension
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From at least 1995, metaphorical + extension.
Noun [edit]
metaphorical extension (plural metaphorical extensions)
- A noun meaning the process as the language changes over time in linguistics wherein the meaning of or part of the sense of a word which was used as a portion of a popularized metaphorical phrase is transferred back to and subsequently becomes one of the accepted general meanings of the original word used in the phrase . (Example mouse, in computing from computer mouse, an input device which possessed a metaphorical tail.)
- The part of the definition of a word which has undergone a such meaning change.
