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topoi

topoi (literary commonplaces)

noun TOH-poy Rare
Communication Language

Origin: Greek topos (place), plural topoi

Usage Note

Topoi is the Greek plural of topos, used in Italian literary criticism to mean recurring themes or commonplaces (loci communes). The singular topos is also used in Italian. Both words are invariable in Italian morphology — do not add an Italian plural ending. The term is confined to academic and critical discourse.

Examples

"Il testo è ricco di topoi della tradizione classica."

Natural Translation

The text is rich in topoi from the classical tradition.

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