Definition

1. Noun:
   • A dead metaphor is a figure of speech that was originally metaphorical but has been used so frequently and for so long that its figurative meaning is now the standard, literal meaning of the word or phrase. The original imagery or comparison is no longer consciously perceived by speakers.

Usage

• The term is used in linguistics, literary analysis, and rhetoric to describe words whose metaphorical origins have faded from common awareness.
• It is typically used as a countable noun (e.g., "a dead metaphor," "several dead metaphors").

Examples

• Noun:
  • The word "daisy" (from "day's eye") is a classic dead metaphor.
  • In the phrase "the leg of the table," the word "leg" is considered a dead metaphor.
  • Linguists study how dead metaphors become part of ordinary language.

Advanced Usage

• Conceptual Blending: Dead metaphors are often cited in discussions of how language evolves and how abstract concepts are built upon embodied, physical experiences that have become linguistically fossilized.
• Revitalization: In poetry or creative writing, a writer might intentionally "revive" a dead metaphor by drawing attention to its original, literal image.

Variants and Related Words

• Metaphor (n): A figure of speech directly comparing two unrelated things.
• Frozen Metaphor (n): A synonym for "dead metaphor."
• Conventional Metaphor (n): A metaphor so common it is standard in a language, which may or may not be "dead."
• Cliché (n): An overused phrase or idea; many clichés are dead metaphors.

Synonyms

• Frozen metaphor
• Lexicalized metaphor

Related Phrases

• "To die as a metaphor": The process by which an active metaphor loses its figurative force and becomes standard usage.
  • The computing term "mouse" may one day die as a metaphor if the physical device becomes obsolete.

Idioms

(This term is itself a technical term; it is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions outside of academic discussion.)

Noun

1. a metaphor that has occurred so often that it has become a new meaning of the expression (e.g., `he is a snake' may once have been a metaphor but after years of use it has died and become a new sense of the word `snake')