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)

(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], Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, 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 1062248511, page 5:
  Allegory Metaphors continues still,
  Which with new graces every sentence fill.]
A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation.
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], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, 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.
(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
allegorise

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), 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
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