simile

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English simile,^[2][3] borrowed from Latin simile (“a like thing; comparison, parallel, likeness”),^[4][5][6] the neuter, used as a noun, of similis (“like, resembling, of the same kind”).^[4][5][3] The Latin adjective goes back, through Old Latin semol (“together”), to Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; as one, together with”),^[4] the Indo-European base of same.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A comparison or analogy: probably before 1387, in the C-text of Piers Plowman, By this simile..ich seo an euidence.^[2][6][5] The MED notes a variant reading similitude at this point.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its rhetorical sense since Langland.^[5] Etymonline adds that the things compared must have notable points in common, both must be mentioned and the comparison must be stated directly, and quotes Johnson's demand that a perfect simile "must both illustrate and ennoble the subject".^[4] In the 17th century it also meant likeness in general, a use now rare,^[5][7] and a thing regarded as symbolising another, in effect a metaphor.^[5] As a mass noun, the use of such comparisons, it dates from 1682.^[5] A rare verb, to express by a simile, is recorded from 1647.^[5][7]

Timeline

• probably before 1387 – a comparison, an analogy.^[2][6]
• 1604 – likeness, resemblance, in Cawdrey.^[5]
• 1647 – verb, to express by a simile, to liken.^[5]
• 1682 – mass noun, the use of similes.^[5]
• 1682 – something symbolising something else.^[5]
• 1743 – the image of a thing (obsolete by 1892).^[5]
• 1834 – in music, simile, in the same way.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A figure of speech that compares two unlike things, usually with like or as: a voice like gravel.^[8][9][5]
2. The use of such comparisons, as a style of language.^[5]
3. Something seen as representing or suggesting something else; a symbol.^[5]
4. Likeness, similarity.^[9][5]

Verb

1. (rare) To express by a simile; to liken.^[5][7]

Related words

• similar
• similitude
• same
• facsimile

Usage notes

Collins and Merriam-Webster Unabridged contrast the word with metaphor.^[8][9] In music, simile (/ˈsɪmᵻleɪ/) is a direction to go on in the same way, from Italian simile (“similar”), itself from Latin similis; it is recorded from 1834 in the OED and about 1897 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged, which also has it for a printed sign calling for a figure or measure to be repeated.^[5][9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster