Metalepsis

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Metalepsis \Met`a*lep"sis\, n.; pl. {Metalepses}. [L., fr. Gr. ?
     participation, alteration, fr. ? to partake, to take in
     exchange; ? beyond + ? to take.] (Rhet.)
     The continuation of a trope in one word through a succession
     of significations, or the union of two or more tropes of a
     different kind in one word.


     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  metalepsis
       n : substituting metonymy of one figurative sense for another