allegory

English

Etymology

From Middle English allegorie, from Old French allegorie, from Latin allēgoria, from Ancient Greek ἀλληγορία (allēgoría), from ἄλλος (állos, “other”) + ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “I speak”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.ɪˌɡɔː.ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.əˌɡɔɹ.i/

• audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

allegory (countable and uncountable, plural allegories)

1. (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter III, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 30–31:

     Ah! the Roman emperor, who desired that his slavery might be alleviated by his fetters being made of gold, was a very rational person. I have always considered it an allegory, showing the necessity of marrying for money.

   • 1835, L[arret] Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, →OCLC, page 5:

     Allegory Metaphors continues still,
     Which with new graces every sentence fill.

2. A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation.
3. A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 11:

     There were casts of the Gladiator—he whose native courage struggled against the doom which was yet welcome—a mournful allegory of honour.

4. (mathematics, category theory) A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalisation of that category.

Derived terms

• allegoric
• allegorical
• allegorically
• allegorise
• allegorism
• allegorist
• allegoristic
• allegorization

 

Related terms

• agora
• agoraphobia
• category

Translations

the representation of abstract principles

• Arabic: تَمْثِيل m (tamṯīl)
• Armenian: այլաբանություն (hy) (aylabanutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: kinayə (az), təmsil (az)
• Belarusian: алего́рыя f (aljehóryja)
• Bulgarian: алего́рия (bg) f (alegórija)
• Catalan: al·legoria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 寓言 (zh) (yùyán), 諷喻／讽喻 (fěngyù), 託寓／托寓 (tuōyù)

• Czech: jinotaj m, alegorie f
• Esperanto: alegorio
• Finnish: vertauskuva (fi), allegoria (fi)
• French: allégorie (fr) f
• Galician: alegoría (gl) f
• Georgian: ალეგორია (alegoria)
• German: Allegorie (de) f, Sinnbild (de) n
• Greek: αλληγορία (el) f (alligoría)

  Ancient: ἀλληγορία f (allēgoría)

• Hungarian: allegória (hu)
• Indonesian: alegori (id)
• Irish: fáthchiall f
• Italian: allegoria (it) f
• Japanese: アレゴリー (aregorī), 寓話 (ja) (ぐうわ, gūwa)
• Korean: 알레고리 (ko) (allegori), 우화 (uhwa)
• Lithuanian: alegorija (lt) f
• Malay: alegori
• Maori: kōrero tairitenga
• Norwegian: allegori (no) m
• Polish: alegoria (pl) f
• Portuguese: alegoria (pt) f
• Russian: аллего́рия (ru) f (allegórija)
• Scottish Gaelic: samhla m
• Spanish: alegoría (es) f
• Swedish: allegori (sv), sinnebild (sv) c
• Tagalog: talinhaga
• Thai: อุปมานิทัศน์ (ùp-bpà-maa-ní-tát)
• Ukrainian: алего́рія (uk) f (alehórija)
• Volapük: lalegor (vo)

communication using such representation

• Catalan: al·legoria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 寓言 (zh) (yùyán), 諷喻／讽喻 (fěngyù)

• Czech: (uses qualifying adjective)
• Finnish: vertauskuva (fi), allegoria (fi)
• Galician: alegoría (gl) f
• Greek: αλληγορία (el) f (alligoría)

  Ancient: ἀλληγορία f (allēgoría)

• Italian: allegoria (it) f
• Norwegian: allegori (no) m
• Portuguese: parábola (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: samhla m
• Spanish: alegoría (es) f
• Swedish: allegori (sv)

symbolic representation

• Bulgarian: си́мвол (bg) m (símvol), ембле́ма (bg) f (embléma)
• Catalan: al·legoria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 寓意 (zh) (yùyì)

• Czech: jinotaj m, alegorie f
• Finnish: vertauskuva (fi), allegoria (fi)
• French: allégorie (fr) f
• Galician: alegoría (gl) f
• German: Allegorie (de) f, Sinnbild (de) n
• Greek: αλληγορία (el) f (alligoría)
• Italian: allegoria (it) f
• Norwegian: allegori (no) m
• Polish: alegoria (pl) f
• Portuguese: alegoria (pt) f
• Scottish Gaelic: samhla m
• Spanish: alegoría (es) f
• Swedish: allegori (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Allegorik f
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} משל (he) (mashahl)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} alegorija (lt) f
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} alegorija (sh) f

See also

• metaphor