allegory

Meanings

Noun

a short moral story (often with animal characters)
a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor
The use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message, usually a moral or political one, about real-world issues and occurrences; also, the interpretation of such symbols.
A picture, story, or other form of communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol.
A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category.

Verb

Synonym of allegorize.
To interpret (a picture, story, or other form of communication) to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
Synonym of allegorize.
To create an allegory (noun sense 2.1) from (a character, an event or situation, etc.); also, to use one or more symbols to depict (a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences).
Synonym of allegorize.
Followed by away: to treat (something) as allegorical or symbolic rather than as truth.
Synonym of allegorize.
To interpret an allegory.
Synonym of allegorize.
To create or use allegory.

Origin / Etymology

The noun is derived from Late Middle English allegorie (“symbolic interpretation; symbolism; (Christianity) one of the four methods of interpreting the Bible”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Allegorie is borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegorie and Middle French allegorie (“narrative with a hidden meaning; such a meaning or its interpretation”) (modern French allégorie), and directly from their etymon Latin allēgoria (“figurative or metaphorical language, allegory; parable”) (whence Late Latin allēgoria (“allegorical interpretation of the Bible”)), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λληγορῐ́ᾱ (ăllēgorĭ́ā, “figurative or metaphorical language”), probably from ἀλληγορος (allēgoros, “allegorical”) (though only attested in Byzantine Greek) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀλληγορος (Allēgoros) is derived from ᾰ̓́λλος (ắllos, “another; different”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“beyond; other”)) + ἠγόρ- (ēgór-, the imperfect stem of ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in the assembly; to say, speak”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain inflections of adjectives); and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) from ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́, “assembly; assembly place; market place; speech”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”)) + -εύω (-eúō, suffix forming verbs).
The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

apologue, emblem, fable, parable

Scrabble Score: 12

allegory is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
allegory is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
allegory is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

allegory is a valid Words With Friends word