The term "
trope" is both a term which denotes figurative and metaphorical language and one which has been used in various technical senses. The term
trope derives from the
Greek τρόπος (
tropos), "a turn, a change", related to the root of the verb τρέπειν (
trepein), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change"; this means that the term is used metaphorically to denote, among other things, metaphorical language. Perhaps the term can be explained as meaning the same thing as
a turn of phrase in its original sense.