Hypertext Webster Gateway: "metaphor"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Metaphor \Met"a*phor\, n. [F. m['e]taphore, L. metaphora, fr.
Gr. ?, fr. ? to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over +
fe`rein to bring, bear.] (Rhet.)
The transference of the relation between one set of objects
to another set for the purpose of brief explanation; a
compressed simile; e. g., the ship plows the sea. --Abbott &
Seeley. ``All the world's a stage.'' --Shak.
Note: The statement, ``that man is a fox,'' is a metaphor;
but ``that man is like a fox,'' is a simile,
similitude, or comparison.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
metaphor
n : a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer
to something that it does not literally denote in order
to suggest a similarity
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