prosopopoeia

noun pro·so·po·poe·ia \ prə-ˌsō-pə-ˈpē-ə , ˌprä-sə-pə- \

Definition of prosopopoeia

1 : a figure of speech in which an imaginary or absent person is represented as speaking or acting

2 : personification

Origin and Etymology of prosopopoeia

borrowed from Latin prosōpopoeia, borrowed from Greek prosōpopoiía, from prósōpon "face, mask, role, person" (from pros- "facing, opposite" + -ōp- "eye, sight," hence, "the eyes, or sight, opposite own's own") + -poiia "making," from poi-, base of poieîn "to make" + -ia -ia — more at pros-, ¹eye, poet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1550

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year