allegory

English

Etymology

From Middle English allegorie, from Old French allegorie, from Latin allegoria, 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.
   • [1835, L[arret] Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, OCLC 1062248511, 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, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 1, 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
• allegorist
• allegorize

Related terms

• agora
• agoraphobia
• category

Translations

the representation of abstract principles

• Arabic: تَمْثِيل‎ m (tamṯīl)
• Armenian: այլաբանություն (hy) (aylabanutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: kinayə (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)

• 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)

• 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
• 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
• Czech: jinotaj m, alegorie f
• Finnish: vertauskuva (fi), allegoria (fi)
• Galician: alegoría (gl) f
• German: Allegorie (de) f, Sinnbild (de) n
• Greek: αλληγορία (el) f (alligoría)

• Italian: allegoria (it) f
• Norwegian: allegori (no) m
• 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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} allégorie (fr) f
• 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