Aphorismus

Not to be confused withaphorism.

Aphorismus(from theGreek:ἀφορισμός,aphorismós,"a marking off", also "rejection, banishment" ) is afigure of speechthat calls into question if a word is properly used ( "How can you call yourself a man?" ).It often appears in the form of arhetorical questionwhich is meant to imply a difference between the present thing being discussed and the general notion of the subject.

Examples

• "For you have but mistook me all this while. / I live with bread like you, feel want, / Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, / How can you say to me I am a king?"William Shakespeare,Richard IIAct 3, scene 2, 174-177
• "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."Bill Clinton,August 17, 1998

See also

• Figure of speech