catachresis

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English

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Alternative forms

Variant spellings[1] catechresis (17 th century, obsolete, now a misspelling), katachresis (17 th century)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin catachrēsis, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

catachresis (plural catachreses)

  1. A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.[1]
    1. (often, especially) Such a misuse involving some similarity of sound between the misused word and the appropriate word.
  2. (rhetoric) A misapplication or overextension of figurative or analogical description; a wrongly-applied metaphor or trope.[1]

Synonyms

  • (misuse of a word, regardless of similar sounds): misnomer
  • (misuse of a word, with similar sounds): malapropism
  • ((rhetoric) bad metaphor or trope): abusio

Translations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “‖catachresis” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]
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