anacoluthon

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous ”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/

Noun

anacoluthon (plural anacolutha or anacoluthons)

Examples (intentional use of inconsistent grammatical structure)

You better not or, what do you think will happen?
He had long wanted, and even dreamed about, going to Paris.

  1. (grammar) A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
    The name of his dog is — I don't really remember right now.
    • 1835, Moses Stuart, A Treatise on the Syntax of the New Testament Dialect: With an Appendix, Containing a Dissertation on the Greek Article, Edinburgh: T. Clarke, →OCLC, page 249:
      Another species of anacoluthon is when, after the sentence is begun with a participle, the construction passes over into a finite verb, where we should naturally expect the participial construction to be continued.
  2. (rhetoric) Intentional use of such a structure.
    • 1874, James Boyd, Elements of English Composition, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Logical, and Practical; Prepared for Academies and Schools, New York: A.S. Barnes, →OCLC, page 281:
      Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!"

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

  • “anacoluthon” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.
  • Silva Rhetoricae

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous ”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”).

Pronunciation

Noun

anacolūthon n (genitive anacolūthī); second declension

  1. anacoluthon

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type).

singular plural
nominative anacolūthon anacolūtha
genitive anacolūthī anacolūthōrum
dative anacolūthō anacolūthīs
accusative anacolūthon anacolūtha
ablative anacolūthō anacolūthīs
vocative anacolūthon anacolūtha

Descendants

  • → English: anacoluthon
  • → French: anacoluthe (learned)
  • → Italian: anacoluto (learned)
  • → Polish: anakolut
  • → Portuguese: anacoluto (learned)
  • → Spanish: anacoluto (learned)

References

  • “anacoluthon” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.
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