This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
heightism
theophoric
ekphrasis
diegetic
yesterweek

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(EK-fruh-sis)

MEANING:

noun: A description of or commentary on a work of visual art.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin ecphrasis, from Greek ekphrasis (description), from ek (ex-, out) + phrazein (to explain). Earliest documented use: 1632.

NOTES:

The earliest known Greek example of ekphrasis is from the Iliad in which Homer describes the shield of Achilles in great detail. It was the shield that Achilles used in his fight with Hector.

USAGE:

“But to Louise the picture is an abstraction. She describes it in a befuddled ekphrasis, like an art student looking at an obscure slide, bringing none of its ideological weight to the task.”
Vinson Cunningham; Pro Choice; The New Yorker; Jan 30, 2023.

See more usage examples of ekphrasis in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: