| Sumario: | Drawing on the cognitive linguistic theory of conceptual metaphors, this paper argues that the epic formula ἔπεα πτερόεντα, 'winged words', whose reference and precise meaning has long been debated, is best understood as an instantiation of the conduit metaphor which conceptualises verbal communication as a process of transfer between speaker and listener. The metaphor needs to be interpreted in the context of similar phrases which also refer to words as objects being passed between sender and recipient, and its main point of comparison is the act of flying through the air (irrespective of whether the original reference was to birds or arrows). Thus, words become 'winged' only when they are spoken out loud. This explanation also accounts for the less common, but equally controversial phrase ἄπτερος μῦθος, 'wingless word', which then must refer to an utterance which remains unvocalised and thus is not sent 'flying'.
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