Figurativefrom
Figurativefrom is a term in literary linguistics describing how a listener derives figurative meaning from the broader discourse context, rather than from an explicit metaphor in the sentence itself. The figurative reading is said to emerge from situational and cultural knowledge shared by participants.
Etymology: The term combines figurative with from, highlighting that the figurative sense originates in context. It
Mechanism: Figurativefrom operates when a phrase has a literal surface reading but becomes figurative because of
Distinction: Unlike explicit metaphor, which encodes a mapping within the utterance, figurativefrom foregrounds context as the
Examples: "The conference buzzed with ideas" can be understood figurativelyfrom as referencing the energy of idea
Usage: Some scholars see figurativefrom as a useful way to describe discourse-driven meanings, while others favor
See also: figurative language, metaphor, metonymy, discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics.