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allegoresis

noun al·le·go·re·sis \ ˌa-lə-gə-ˈrē-səs \

Definition of allegoresis

:the interpretation of written, oral, or artistic expression as allegory
  • The trend unfolded in the later Middle Ages in popular devotional texts … in which the Christ-Bridegroom identification, derived from traditional allegoresis, became rhetorically charged through the force of the Song’s love language.
  • —Ann W. Astell,  The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages,  1990

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Origin and Etymology of allegoresis

allegor(y) orallegor(ize) +-esis

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