What is a love-as-patient metaphor?

What is a love-as-patient metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which love is represented as a person whose degree of health represents the state of the love relationship.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	They have a strong, healthy marriage. The marriage is dead--it can't be revived. Their relationship is in really good shape. It's a tired affair.

Generic
	A love-as-patient metaphor is a kind of
	What is a metaphor for love?

Source
	Lakoff, G. and Johnson 1980

Context for this page:

Concept module: love-as-patient metaphor
In modular book: Metaphors in English, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H. Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Lexicon

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 September 1998