allegory
n. C / Un. a story, poem, or picture that hides a deeper meaning — usually about morals or politics. You use this word when characters or events stand for bigger ideas.
n. a narrative, poem, or visual work in which characters, events, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. It functions as an extended metaphor to convey hidden political or philosophical meanings.
The novel is an allegory about the dangers of greed.
George Orwell's Animal Farm is a famous allegory in which farm animals represent historical figures from the Russian Revolution.
Through its complex allegory, the epic poem explores the soul's journey toward salvation, using mythical creatures to embody various human vices and virtues.
The noun is derived from Late Middle English allegorie (“symbolic interpretation; symbolism; (Christianity) one of the four methods of interpreting the Bible”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Allegorie is borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegorie and Middle French allegorie (“narrative with a hidden meaning; such a meaning or its interpretation”) (modern French allégorie), and directly from their etymon Latin allēgoria (“figurative or metaphorical language, allegory; parable”) (whence Late Latin allēgoria (“allegorical interpretation of the Bible”)), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λληγορῐ́ᾱ (ăllēgorĭ́ā, “figurative or metaphorical language”), probably from ἀλληγορος (allēgoros, “allegorical”) (though only attested in Byzantine Greek) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀλληγορος (Allēgoros) is derived from ᾰ̓́λλος (ắllos, “another; different”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂el- (“beyond; other”)) + ἠγόρ- (ēgór-, the imperfect stem of ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in the assembly; to say, speak”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain inflections of adjectives); and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) from ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́, “assembly; assembly place; market place; speech”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”)) + -εύω (-eúō, suffix forming verbs). The verb is derived from the noun.
Countable when referring to a specific story or work; uncountable when referring to the genre or technique itself.