catachresis

English

Alternative forms

• catechresis, katachresis (both 17th century; obsolete)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin catachrēsis, borrowed from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs/

Noun

catachresis (countable and uncountable, plural catachreses)

1. A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.
   1. (often, especially) Such a misuse involving some similarity of sound between the misused word and the appropriate word.
2. (rhetoric) A misapplication or overextension of figurative or analogical description; a wrongly applied metaphor or trope.
   • 1835, L[arret] Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, →OCLC, page 14:

     A Catachresis terms abused receives,
     And epithets and attributes improper gives.

Synonyms

• (misuse of a word, with similar sounds): malapropism (this word is sometimes used in a way hyponymic to catachresis, in which sense only absurd and laughable catachreses are malapropisms)
• ((rhetoric) bad metaphor or trope): abusio

Related terms

• catachresized
• catachrestic
• catachrestical
• catachrestically

Translations

misuse of a word

• Esperanto: katakrezo
• Finnish: (sanan) väärä käyttö
• Japanese: 濫喩 (ranyu)
• Latin: catachresis
• Norwegian: katakrese m
• Occitan: catacrèsi f
• Portuguese: catacrese (pt) f
• Russian: катахре́за (ru) f (kataxréza)
• Spanish: impropiedad léxica f
• Swedish: katakres (sv) c

(rhetoric) bad metaphor or trope

• Finnish: katakreesi
• French: catachrèse (fr) f
• German: Katachrese (de) f
• Italian: catacresi (it) f
• Occitan: catacrèsi f
• Portuguese: catacrese (pt) f
• Russian: катахре́за (ru) f (kataxréza)
• Spanish: catacresis (es) f

See also

• eggcorn
• misnomer (a word that is well-known to seem to refer to something other than its referent but is nonetheless usually correct)
• phantonym (a word that invites catachrestic use because of its sound or appearance)

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kaˈta.kʰre.sis/, [käˈt̪äkʰrɛs̠ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kaˈta.kre.sis/, [käˈt̪äːkres̬is]

Noun

catachrēsis f (genitive catachrēsis); third declension

1. (New Latin) catachresis

Descendants

• → English: catachresis
• → French: catachrèse f