English
figurative
Figurative comes from Middle French figuratif.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600figuratif
- Englishearliest quotation 1861figurative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600figuratif
- Englishearliest quotation 1861figurative
Earliest quotation: 1861, Richard Chenevix Trench, Fifth edition: “Into an error of this kind they have fallen,…”
Every English word from Middle French figuratif
Today it means
adj Of use as a metaphor, simile, metonym or other figure of speech, as opposed to literal; using figures.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French figuratif / figurative