1. A work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things: An allegory symbolically expresses a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning.
2. The symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through a story or scene acted out by a human, an animal, or mythical characters: George Orwell's novel Animal Farm is an allegory in which animals behave and talk like humans..
3. A symbolic representation of something: "An allegory" by Sandro Botticelli created in 1488 is an example of a painted allegory.

The blindfolded figure holding scales is an allegory of justice.
4. A story in which people, things, and happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning: Allegories are used for teaching or explaining ideas, moral principles, etc.

5. Etymology: a description of one thing under the image of another; from allos,, "other" plus agoreuein, "to speak openly in an assembly" from agora, "marketplace, place of assembly".