Allegory

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) - Cite This Source

al?le?go?ry /'�l??g?ri, -?go?ri/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[al-uh-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

�noun, plural -ries.

1.	a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.

2.	a symbolical narrative: the allegory of Piers Plowman.

3.	emblem (def. 3).

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[Origin: 1350�1400; ME allegorie <>allegoria <>allegor�a, deriv. of allegore�n to speak so as to imply something other. See allo-, agora; Gk agore�ein to speak, proclaim, orig. meant to act (e.g., speak) in the assembly]

�Synonyms 2. fable, parable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, � Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source

al�le�go�ry (l-g�r, -gr) Pronunciation Key n. pl. al�le�go�ries The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. A story, picture, or play employing such representation. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are allegories. A symbolic representation: The blindfolded figure with scales is an allegory of justice. [Middle English allegorie, from Latin allgoria, from Greek, from allgorein, to interpret allegorically : allos, other; see al-1 in Indo-European Roots + agoreuein, to speak publicly (from agora, marketplace. See ger- in Indo-European Roots).] alle�gorist n.

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WordNet - Cite This Source

allegory

n 1: a short moral story (often with animal characters) [syn: fable, parable, apologue] 2: a visible symbol representing an abstract idea [syn: emblem] 3: an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor

WordNet � 2.0, � 2003 Princeton University

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source

allegory

used only in Gal. 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the
free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically. Every
parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-4) addresses David in an allegorical
narrative. In the eightieth Psalm there is a beautiful allegory: "Thou
broughtest a vine out of Egypt," etc. In Eccl. 12:2-6, there is a striking
allegorical description of old age.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

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