Metaphor – Monad in Terminology

Abstract

The present study is a modest attempt to demonstrate that metaphor is not just a combination of several linguistic units with fundamental meaning which, interacting, give the structure a figurative meaning, through a hidden comparison. Separate words can also have a metaphorical function, obviously in the context. The transfer of meaning occurs not only from term A to term B, from the concrete word to the abstract one, but also at the level of meaning of a single word. The mechanism is the same, an improper term is used instead of the proper term to maximize expressiveness. Often, these metaphors are difficult to identify because they lack the classic structure where there are two or more metaphorical terms. In terminology, monadic-metaphors are very often found in titles, as notions by which some scientific phenomena are explained. Their stylistic function is stronger than that of classically structured metaphors, because a single lexeme suggests an idea that can be understood by several words.