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Hyperbole

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This article is about a figure of speech, not to be confused with the mathematical term hyperbola.

Hype redirects here. For the popular urban music video director, see Hype Williams.

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1 Definition
2 Language change through hyperbole
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] Definition

Largely synonymous with exaggeration and overstatement, hyperbole is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant. It may be used due to strong feelings or is used to create a strong impression and is not meant to be taken literally. It gives greater emphasis. It is often used in poetry and is a literary device.

"She has a brain the size of a pinhead."
"I nearly died."
"She is so dumb her IQ is probably -2!"
"I will die if no one asks me to dance."
"He is as big as an elephant!"
"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
"I told you a billion times not to exaggerate."
"I've heard that a billion and one times."
"Wikipedia has eleventy billion entries!"

Antonyms to hyperbole include meiosis, litotes, and understatement.

In show business, hyperbole (known as hype or media hype) is the practice of spending money on public relations in an attempt to bolster public interest in (for example) a movie, television show, or performing artist. Often the entertainment value of the thing being hyped is exaggerated. Consequently, hype (but not traditional, litterate hyperbole) has a bad reputation.

Derived from the Greek ὑπερβολή (literally 'overshooting' or 'excess') it is cognate with hyperbola and the correct pronunciation is /haɪˈpɝbəli/ ("hy-PER-buh-lee").

Bathos is the opposite of a Hyperbole. Bathos is the 'let down' after a Hyperbole in a phrase.

The modern slang term hype, in its usage as meaning extravagant publicity, is derived from the word hyperbole^{[citation needed]}. An early example of the use of this slang term is in the 1988 song "Don't Believe the Hype" by the hip hop group Public Enemy.

[edit] Language change through hyperbole

In Latin: manducare, which originally meant "to eat like the greedy comedy character Manducus"^{[citation needed]}, was used so often in Vulgar Latin as slang for ordinary eating that it evolved into French manger and Italian mangiare, which merely means "to eat.".