ekphrasis

• ecphrasis

From Ancient Greek ἔκφρασις (ékphrasis, “description”), from ἐκφράζω (ekphrázō, “I describe”), from ἐκ (ek, “out, ex-”) + φράζω (phrázō, “I explain, point out”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛkfɹəsɪs/

ekphrasis (plural ekphrases)

1. (rhetoric) A clear, intense, self-contained argument or verbal description of an object, especially of an artwork.
   • 2004, Daniel Donoghue, Old English Literature, Blackwell, page 75:

     One [trope] is ekphrasis, the literary description of a work of art, the most famous example of which may be the careful depiction of the shield of Achilles in book 18 of the Iliad.