What is the direct meaning of words. What is the literal and figurative meaning of the word? Examples of words in a figurative meaning
Direct meaning of the word - this is its main lexical meaning. It is directly directed to the designated object, phenomenon, action, sign, immediately evokes an idea of them and is least dependent on the context. Words most often appear in their literal meaning.
figurative meaning of the word - this is its secondary meaning, which arose on the basis of the direct one.
Toy, -i, f. 1. A thing used for playing. Kids toys. 2. transfer One who blindly acts according to someone else's will is an obedient instrument of someone else's will (disapproved). To be a toy in someone's hands.
The essence of the transfer of meaning is that the meaning is transferred to another object, another phenomenon, and then one word is used as the name of several objects at the same time. In this way, the polysemy of the word is formed. Depending on the basis on which sign the transfer of meaning occurs, there are three main types of transfer of meaning: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche.
Metaphor (from the Greek metaphora - transfer) is the transfer of a name by similarity:
ripe apple - eyeball (in shape); the nose of a person - the bow of a ship (by location); chocolate bar - chocolate tan (by color); bird wing - airplane wing (by function); the dog howled - the wind howled (according to the nature of the sound); and etc.
Metonymy (from the Greek metonymia - renaming) is the transfer of a name from one object to another based on their contiguity:
water boils - the kettle boils; porcelain dish - tasty dish; native gold - Scythian gold, etc.
Synecdoche (from the Greek synekdoche - co-implication) is the transfer of the name of the whole to its part and vice versa:
thick currant - ripe currant; a beautiful mouth - an extra mouth (about an extra person in the family); big head - smart head, etc.
20. Stylistic use of homonyms.
Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings. As is known, within homonymy, lexical and morphological homonyms are distinguished. Lexical homonyms belong to the same part of speech and coincide in all their forms. For example: a key (from a lock) and a (icy) key.
Morphological homonymy is the homonymy of individual grammatical forms of the same word: three is the numeral and the imperative form of the verb to rub.
These are homophones, or phonetic homonyms, - words and forms of different meanings that sound the same, although they are spelled differently. flu - mushroom,
Homonyms also include homographs - words that have the same spelling but differ in stress: castle - castle
21. Stylistic use of synonyms.
Synonyms are words that denote the same concept, therefore, identical or similar in meaning.
Synonyms that have the same meaning, but differ in stylistic coloring. Among them, two groups are distinguished: a) synonyms belonging to different functional styles: live (neutral interstyle) - live (official business style); b) synonyms belonging to the same functional style, but having different emotional and expressive shades. smart (with a positive coloring) - brainy, big-headed (roughly familiar coloring).
semantic-stylistic. They differ both in meaning and stylistic coloring. For example: wander, wander, hang around, stagger.
Synonyms perform various functions in speech.
Synonyms are used in speech to clarify thoughts: He seemed a little lost, as if he was afraid (I. S. Turgenev).
Synonyms are used to contrast concepts, which sharply highlights their differences, especially strongly emphasizing the second synonym: He actually did not walk, but dragged along without lifting his feet from the ground
One of essential functions synonyms - a substitution function that allows you to avoid repeating words.
Synonyms are used to construct a special stylistic figure
Stringing synonyms can, if handled ineptly, indicate the author’s stylistic helplessness.
Inappropriate use of synonyms gives rise to a stylistic error - pleonasm (“memorable souvenir”).
Two types of pleonasms: syntactic and semantic.
Syntactic appears when the grammar of the language makes it possible to make some function words redundant. “I know he will come” and “I know he will come.” The second example is syntactically redundant. It's not a mistake.
Positively, pleonasm can be used to prevent information loss (to be heard and remembered).
Also, pleonasm can serve as a means of stylistic design of a statement and a technique of poetic speech.
Pleonasm should be distinguished from tautology - repetition of unambiguous or the same words (which can be a special stylistic device).
Synonymy creates wide possibilities for selecting lexical means, but searching for the exact word costs the author a lot of work. Sometimes it is not easy to determine exactly how synonyms differ, what semantic or emotional-expressive shades they express. And it is not at all easy to choose from a multitude of words the only correct, necessary one.
The richness of the Russian language lies in the ambiguity of its words. In this article we will talk about the literal and figurative meaning of words and give examples for each of them. You will also learn in what cases words are used in a figurative meaning and their features.
What is the literal and figurative meaning of nouns?
In the Russian language there is a special class of nouns - ambiguous nouns that have literal and figurative meanings. The use of nouns in literal and figurative meaning depends on the context in which the word is used:
- Direct meaning– the main lexical meaning of the noun, has no emotional and expressive connotations.
- Figurative meaning– secondary, non-basic meaning of a word, which functions in speech along with the main meaning; is formed by transferring meaning based on similarity, and often has emotionally expressive semantic connotations.
Examples of nouns in the literal and figurative sense: wooden table(direct) – order table(portable), building wall(direct) – wall of rain(portable), women's hat(direct) – nail head(portable).
Using nouns in a figurative sense
Nouns in a figurative sense are used mainly in an artistic style, giving speech figurativeness.
For example: The snow lies like magnificent carpets, glistening in the sun (Pushkin)- noun "carpets" And the peaceful evening fire was swallowed up by the sea wave(Tyutchev) – noun "fire" used in a figurative sense.
Often the differences between the literal and figurative meaning of nouns are erased, and the figurative meaning becomes direct (for example: chair leg, cup handle, teapot spout).
When polysemous, one of the meanings of a word is direct, and everyone else - portable.
Direct meaning of the word- this is its main lexical meaning. It is directly aimed at the subject (immediately evokes an idea of the subject, phenomenon) and is least dependent on the context. Words denoting objects, actions, signs, quantity, most often appear in
direct meaning.
Portable meaning of the word- this is its secondary meaning that arose on the basis of the direct one. For example:
Toy, -and, and. 1. A thing used for playing. Kids toys.
2. transfer One who blindly acts according to someone else's will is an obedient instrument of someone else's will (disapproved). To be a toy in someone's hands.
The essence of polysemy lies in the fact that some name of an object or phenomenon is transferred, transferred also to another object, another phenomenon, and then one word is used as the name of several objects or phenomena simultaneously. Depending on the basis on which the name is transferred,” there are three main types of figurative meaning: 1) metaphor; 2) metonymy; 3) synecdoche.
Metaphor(from the Greek metaphora - transfer) - this is the transfer of a name by similarity, for example: ripe apple -eyeball(by form); human nose- bow of the ship(by location); chocolate bar- chocolate tan(by color); bird wing- airplane wing(by function); the dog howled- the wind howled(according to the nature of the sound), etc. yes
Metonymy(then Greek metonymia - renaming) is the transfer of a name from one object to another based on their contiguity *, for example: water is boiling- behindthe kettle is boiling; porcelain dish- tasty dish; native gold- Scythian gold etc. A type of metonymy is synecdoche.
Synecdoche(from the Greek “synekdoche” - co-implying) is the transfer of the name of the whole to its part and vice versa, for example: thick currant- ripe currants; beautiful mouth- extra mouth(about an extra person in the family); bighead- clever mind etc.
In the process of developing figurative names, a word can be enriched with new meanings as a result of narrowing or expanding its basic meaning. Over time figurative meanings may become straight.
It is possible to determine in what meaning a word is used only in context. Compare, for example, the sentences: 1) Wesat on the corner bastion, so it could go both wayssee everything (M. Lermontov). 2) In Tarakanovka, as in the deepest bearish corner, there was no place for secrets (D. Mamin-Sibiryak)
* Adjacent - located directly next to, having about border.
In the first sentence the word corner used in its literal meaning: “the place where two sides of something meet or intersect.” And in stable combinations “in a blind corner”, “bearish corner” the meaning of the word will be figurative: in a remote corner- in remote areas, bearliving corner - desolate place.
In explanatory dictionaries direct meaning of the word is given first, and figurative values are numbered 2, 3, 4, 5. The value recorded as figurative recently comes with the mark "peren" For example:
Wood,-oh, -oh. 1. Made from wood, 2. trans. Motionless, unexpressive. Wooden facial expression. ABOUT Wood oil- cheap grade of olive oil.
Each word has a basic lexical meaning.
For example, desk- this is a school table, green- color of grass or foliage, There is- this means eating.
The meaning of the word is called direct , if the sound of the word accurately indicates an object, action or sign.
Sometimes the sound of one word is transferred to another object, action or sign based on similarity. The word acquires a new lexical meaning, which is called portable .
Let's look at examples of the direct and figurative meaning of words. If a person says a word sea, he and his interlocutors have an image of a large body of water with salty water.
This is the direct meaning of the word sea. And in combinations sea of lights, sea of people, sea of books we see the figurative meaning of the word sea, which denotes a large number of something or someone.
Gold coins, earrings, cup- These are objects made of gold.
This is the direct meaning of the word gold. The following phrases have a figurative meaning: gold hair- hair with a brilliant yellow tint, skillful fingers- this is what they say about the ability to do something well, golden heart- this is what they say about a person who does good.
Word heavy has a direct meaning - to have significant mass. For example, heavy load, box, briefcase.
The following phrases have a figurative meaning: tough task- complex, not easy to solve; hard day- a difficult day that requires effort; hard look- gloomy, stern.
Girl jumping And temperature fluctuates.
In the first case - a direct value, in the second - figurative (rapid temperature change).
boy running- direct meaning. Time is running out- portable.
Frost has frozen the river- figurative meaning - means that the water in the river is frozen.
House wall- direct meaning. About heavy rain we can say: wall of rain. This is a figurative meaning.
Read the poem:
What kind of miracle is this?
The sun is shining, the rain is falling,
There's a big beautiful river by the river
The rainbow bridge is rising.
If the sun is shining brightly,
The rain is pouring mischievously,
So this rain, children,
Called mushroom!
Mushroom rain- figurative meaning.
As we already know, words with multiple meanings are polysemous.
The figurative meaning is one of the meanings of a polysemantic word.
It is possible to determine in what meaning a word is used only from the context, i.e. in a sentence. For example:
Candles were burning on the table. Direct meaning.
His eyes sparkled with happiness. Figurative meaning.
You can ask for help from explanatory dictionary. The literal meaning of the word is always given first, and then the figurative meaning.
Let's look at an example:
Cold -
1. having low temperature. Wash the hands cold water. A cold wind blew from the north.
2. Transfer. About clothes. Cold coat.
3. Transfer. About color. Cool shades of the picture.
4. Transfer. About emotions. Cold look. Cold meeting.
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Words, phrases, phrases and sentences - all this and much more is inherent in the concept of “language”. How much is hidden in it, and how little we actually know about language! We spend every day and even every minute next to him - whether we say our thoughts out loud or read or listen to the radio... Language, our speech is a real art, and it should be beautiful. And its beauty must be genuine. What helps in the search for true beauty
The direct and figurative meaning of words is what enriches our language, develops it and transforms it. How does this happen? Let's understand this endless process when, as they say, words grow from words.
First of all, you need to understand the figurative meaning of the word, and what main types they are divided into. Each word can have one or a number of meanings. Words with one meaning are called unambiguous words. In the Russian language there are significantly fewer of them than words with many different meanings. Examples include words such as computer, ash, satin, sleeve. A word that can be used in several meanings, including figuratively, is a polysemantic word, examples: house can be used to mean a building, a room for people to live, a family way of life, etc.; the sky is the air space above the earth, as well as the location of visible luminaries, or divine power, conduction.
With polysemy, a distinction is made between the literal and figurative meaning of a word. The first meaning of the word, its basis, is the direct meaning of the word. By the way, the word “straight” in this context is figurative in nature, i.e. the main meaning of the word is “something even,
without bends” - is transferred to another object or phenomenon with the meaning “literal, expressed unambiguously.” So we don’t have to go far - we just need to be more careful and observant in what words we use, when and how.
From the above example it already becomes clear that a figurative meaning is a secondary meaning of a word that arose when the literal meaning of the word was transferred to another object. Depending on what feature of the object served as the reason for the transfer of meaning, there are different types of figurative meaning such as metonymy, metaphor, synecdoche.
Direct and can resonate with each other based on similarity - this is a metaphor. For example:
ice water - ice hands (by attribute);
poisonous mushroom - poisonous character (by attribute);
star in the sky - star in hand (by location);
chocolate candy - chocolate tan (based on color).
Metonymy is the selection of some property in a phenomenon or object, which by its nature can replace the others. For example:
gold jewelry - she has gold in her ears;
porcelain dishes - there was porcelain on the shelves;
headache - my headache went away.
And finally, synecdoche is a type of metonymy when one word is replaced by another on the basis of a constant, really existing relationship of part to whole and vice versa. For example:
He is a real head (meaning very smart, the head is the part of the body in which the brain is located).
The entire village took his side - every resident, i.e. the “village” as a whole, which replaces its part.
What can we say in conclusion? Only one thing: if you know the direct and figurative meaning of a word, you will be able not only to use certain words correctly, but also enrich your speech, and learn to beautifully convey your thoughts and feelings, and maybe one day you will come up with your own metaphor or metonymy... Who knows?