metaforik

Metaforik is an adjective describing language, expressions, or concepts that employ metaphor—figurative mappings between two domains rather than literal description. In metaforik usage, a source domain (for example, a journey) is used to illuminate a target domain (such as life or progress). The term is associated with the broader study of metaphor in linguistics and literature. Etymology traces metaphor to the Greek meta- meaning “across” and pherein meaning “to bear” or “to carry”; metaforik is the corresponding adjective form in several languages to indicate metaphorical meaning.

In practice, metaforik language creates imagery, enables abstraction, and facilitates concise communication by linking unfamiliar ideas to familiar ones. Common forms include direct metaphor (Time is a thief), extended metaphor that develops a single image across a passage, and personification, where inanimate concepts are given human attributes.

Metaforik contrasts with literal language and with other figurative devices such as simile, which explicitly uses like or as; allegory, which conveys a deeper moral or political meaning through a narrative; and metonymy, which substitutes one term for another related term. Cognitive linguists argue that metaphors reflect underlying conceptual structures, shaping how people think about time, space, and social relations.

Examples from poetry, prose, and everyday speech illustrate metaforik usage, including in political rhetoric and scientific writing when metaphor aids understanding or persuasion. See also cognitive metaphor theory and figurative language.