LessonsDefining Majāz: Conditions, Indication, and Classification by ConventionQuiz

فالمجاز مفرد ومركب
Figurative expression may be single-word or composite.

In single-word majāz, the transfer concerns a particular lexical item, such as “lion” for a brave person. In composite majāz, the shift concerns an expression or utterance taken as a whole, rather than only the meaning of one component.

The distinction is not simply counting words. We ask whether the semantic transfer belongs to a word or to the communicative force of the full construction. A question used rhetorically to make a point can illustrate a shift at the level of discourse without a single noun changing its referent.

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Single-word and composite figurative expressions

Defining Majāz: Conditions, Indication, and Classification by Convention

فالمجاز مفرد ومركب
Figurative expression may be single-word or composite.

In single-word majāz, the transfer concerns a particular lexical item, such as “lion” for a brave person. In composite majāz, the shift concerns an expression or utterance taken as a whole, rather than only the meaning of one component.

The distinction is not simply counting words. We ask whether the semantic transfer belongs to a word or to the communicative force of the full construction. A question used rhetorically to make a point can illustrate a shift at the level of discourse without a single noun changing its referent.