PARAPHRASE (from παράφρασις, I add words) is the rendering of an author's meaning in words different from, and generally more abundant than, his own. If it is a foreign language which is paraphrased, the paraphrase, as a loose, free translation, is opposed to the paraphrase, or literal rendering of the original. The paraphrase, in short, partakes alike of the version and the commentary, without belonging exclusively to either. The word is sometimes extended to poetical as well as prose translations of an author's meaning. Such are those sacred songs known as paraphrases, which are poetical renderings of certain passages of Scripture.