LessonsKināyah: Definition, Implication, Literal Meaning, and Its Difference from MajāzQuiz

طَوِيلُ النِّجَادِ
A person with a long sword strap.

Nijād denotes the strap by which a sword is suspended. A tall person may conventionally require a long strap, so the expression can communicate ṭawīl al-qāmah, a person of great height.

There are two distinct stages: the wording literally describes the strap, whereas the intended rhetorical description concerns the wearer's stature. The listener does not need an explicit simile marker or the word “height”: the connected meaning supplies the intended description.

Opening interactive controls...

The example of the long sword strap

Kināyah: Definition, Implication, Literal Meaning, and Its Difference from Majāz

طَوِيلُ النِّجَادِ
A person with a long sword strap.

Nijād denotes the strap by which a sword is suspended. A tall person may conventionally require a long strap, so the expression can communicate ṭawīl al-qāmah, a person of great height.

There are two distinct stages: the wording literally describes the strap, whereas the intended rhetorical description concerns the wearer's stature. The listener does not need an explicit simile marker or the word “height”: the connected meaning supplies the intended description.