Anthimeria

Anthimeria (Greek: "one part for another") is the use of a word of one class as if it were a member of another, typically the use of a noun as 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.

See also

• figure of speech
• verbing