When RBC poikilocytes were first named in the 1800s and early 1900s, they must have evoked a conscious mapping of metaphorical source and target domains. Through common usage they are now simply figures of speech devoid of metaphorical force and imaginative effectiveness (i.e. “dead” metaphors).
Terminology:
- Source: This is the domain or concept from which we draw the metaphorical comparison. It’s the familiar or concrete idea that we use to help explain or illuminate another idea. For example, if we say “time is a thief,” the source is “thief.”
- Target: This is the domain or concept that we are trying to explain or understand better using the metaphor. It’s the less familiar or abstract idea that the source helps to clarify. In the example “time is a thief,” the target is “time.”
- Dead metaphor: This is a metaphor that has been used so frequently that it has lost its original vividness and impact. Essentially, it’s a metaphor that has become so familiar and commonplace that it is no longer recognized as a metaphor, but rather as a standard part of the language. Because of its overuse, it often no longer evokes the original imagery or sense of comparison it once did.
