Mĕt'a-phrāse, n.

(mĕt′/a-frāz), n. [Fr. métaphrase, Gr. μετάφρασις, from μετά, beyond, over, and φράσις, a speaking, phrase, from φράζειν, to speak, μεταφράζειν, to paraphrase, translate.]

1. A verbal translation; a version or translation from one language into another, word for word;—opposed to paraphrase.
2. A phrase answering to, or in reply to, another phrase; a repartee.

I'm somewhat dull, still, in the manly art Of phrase and metaphrase. E. B. Browning.