In rhetoric, anthimeria (traditionally and more properly called antimeria) is the use of a word as if it were a member of a different word class (part of speech); typically, the use of a noun as if it were a verb.

Examples

• "I'll unhair thy head." (Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II, v.)
• "The thunder would not peace at my bidding". (Shakespeare, King Lear, IV, vi.)
• "Me, dictionary-ing heavily, 'Where was the one they were watching?'" (Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa)

References

Corbett, Edward P. J. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press, New York, 1971.

External links

• It Figures-Figures of Speech

See also

• Figure of speech
• Verbification