METAPHOR
Main Entry:met£a£phor
Pronunciation:*me-t*-*f*r also -f*r
Function:noun
Etymology:Middle English methaphor, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French metaphore, from Latin metaphora, from Greek, from metapherein to transfer, from meta- + pherein to bear — more at BEAR
Date:15th century

1 : a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly   : figurative language — compare SIMILE
2 : an object, activity, or idea treated as a metaphor : SYMBOL 2
–met£a£phor£ic \*me-t*-*f*r-ik, -*f*r-\ or    met£a£phor£i£cal \-i-k*l\ adjective
–met£a£phor£i£cal£ly \-i-k(*-)l*\ adverb


ALLEGORY
Main Entry:al£le£go£ry
Pronunciation:*a-l*-*g*r-*
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural -ries
Etymology:Middle English allegorie, from Latin allegoria, from Greek all*goria, from all*gorein to speak figuratively, from allos other + -*gorein to speak publicly, from agora assembly — more at ELSE, AGORA
Date:14th century

1 : the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence; also   : an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression
2 : a symbolic representation : EMBLEM 2