LessonsDefining Majāz and Kināyah: Excluding Clues and the Transition to SimileQuiz

ثم اللفظ المراد به لازم ما وضع له
Then comes the word through which a concomitant of its assigned meaning is intended.

The mawḍūʿ lah is the sense to which a word is conventionally assigned. In use, a speaker may intend that original sense or another meaning connected to it. To justify the latter interpretation, we must identify a meaningful relation linking it to the assigned sense.

For example, “ṭawīl al-nijād” literally refers to having a long sword-strap. In a traditional rhetorical setting it can suggest that the person is tall. The literal strap and the inferred stature are different meanings. Keeping them distinct allows a precise rhetorical analysis.

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Intended sense versus assigned meaning

Defining Majāz and Kināyah: Excluding Clues and the Transition to Simile

ثم اللفظ المراد به لازم ما وضع له
Then comes the word through which a concomitant of its assigned meaning is intended.

The mawḍūʿ lah is the sense to which a word is conventionally assigned. In use, a speaker may intend that original sense or another meaning connected to it. To justify the latter interpretation, we must identify a meaningful relation linking it to the assigned sense.

For example, “ṭawīl al-nijād” literally refers to having a long sword-strap. In a traditional rhetorical setting it can suggest that the person is tall. The literal strap and the inferred stature are different meanings. Keeping them distinct allows a precise rhetorical analysis.