Logosglyph
Logosglyphs
A logosglyph is a word that looks like what it means. (Logosglyphs contrast with onomatopoeic words that sound like what they mean.)
Easy Examples of Logosglyphs
- The word bed looks like a bed.
- The word eye looks like a pair of eyes and a nose.
More Examples of Logosglyphs
The word logosglyph literally means "word carving" from the Greek words for word (logos) and carving (glyphe).
- Amanda has eyes like pools.
(The words eyes and pools are logosglyphs. The oo in pool paints a picture of large, round eyes, while the meaning of pool suggests eyes deep and hypnotic.)
- He threw her a discreet sideways look.
(Here, discreet and look are logosglyphs. The ee in discreet looks like a sideways look, and the oo in look looks like eyes.)
- Tall legs like stilts.
(All the words are logosglyphs as their letters (particularly the Ls) give a sense of height.)
Why Should I Care about Logosglyphs?
Logosglyphs are rare. They are typically used in poetry to bring an idea to life by appealing directly to the sense of sight.
