hyperbole

Forms

hyperbolē f (genitive hyperbolēs); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ, “a throwing beyond; exaggeration”),^[2][3][1] from ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, beyond”) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[4][1] Cicero still wrote the word in Greek letters, in the Topica and in a letter.^[5][6] The native Latin terms for the figure were superlātiō and superiectiō.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca (4 BC–65 AD)^[4] uses it in the seventh book of his De beneficiis for the rhetorical figure of overstatement.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Quintilian treats it among the tropes of the orator,^[5][6] and the later grammarians Charisius and Diomedes and the writer Macrobius discuss it too.^[6] It kept the Greek inflection (accusative hyperbolēn); the TLL notes that the genitive and dative appear only in Greek letters.^[7]

Isidore of Seville defines it as an exaggeration that goes beyond belief without leaving the truth, citing Virgil's sidera verberat unda (“the wave lashes the stars”).^[8] Bede repeats Donatus' definition, an expression that exceeds belief for the sake of increase or decrease.^[9] In medieval philosophy it could also mean excess or abundance.^[10] English borrowed it from Latin in the early 15th century.^[11]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the word for the figure of speech.^[5][4]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian discusses it among the tropes.^[5][4]
• 2nd half of the 4th century AD – The grammarian Diomedes defines it.^[6][4]
• 1st half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses the term.^[6][4]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville defines it with examples from Virgil.^[8][4]
• 1st third of the 8th century – Bede repeats Donatus' definition.^[9][4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as hyperbole.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rhetoric) Exaggeration, overstatement, hyperbole.^[2][5][6]
2. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Excess, abundance.^[10]

Word family

• hyperbolicus

Related words

• English hyperbole

Usage notes

Isidore's example sidera verberat unda comes from the Aeneid (3.423); he adds that the speaker shows an intention to stress, not to deceive.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com