Definition of Anacoluthon

1. Noun. An abrupt change within a sentence from one syntactic structure to another.

Exact synonyms: Anacoluthia
Generic synonyms: Rhetorical Device

Definition of Anacoluthon

1. n. A want of grammatical sequence or coherence in a sentence; an instance of a change of construction in a sentence so that the latter part does not syntactically correspond with the first part.

Definition of Anacoluthon

1. Noun. (grammar) A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause. ¹

2. Noun. (rhetoric) Intentional use of such a structure. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Anacoluthon

1. [n -THA or -THONS]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Anacoluthon

anaclitic depression
anaclitic psychotherapy
anaclitisms
anacmesis
anacoenosis
anacoloutha
anacolouthon
anacolouthons
anacolpate
anacolutha
anacoluthia
anacoluthias
anacoluthic
anacoluthically
anacoluthon (current term)
anacoluthons
anaconda
anacondae
anacondas
anacoustic
anacreontic
anacreontics
anacrogynous
anacronym
anacronyms
anacrotic
anacrotic limb
anacrotic pulse
anacrotism

Literary usage of Anacoluthon

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Greek Grammar for the Use of High Schools and Universities by Philipp Buttmann, Edward Robinson (1833)
"Every anacoluthon must he regarded as suspicious, the origin of which cannot be ... The usual form of the anacoluthon appears, where the speaker commences a ..."

2. Elements of English Composition, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Logical, and by James Robert Boyd (1874)
"anacoluthon, or Inconsequence, is an interruption of the grammatical construction, ... anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, ..."

3. Orthometry: A Treatise on the Art of Versification and the Technicalities of by Robert Frederick Brewer (1893)
"(e). anacoluthon. Byron. This is the want of proper sequence in the construction of a compound sentence, as : My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. ..."

4. Notes to Palgrave's Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics, Books I.-IV. by John Henry Fowler (1904)
"There is an anacoluthon, or confusion of grammatical constructions, in lines 117-120. The stanza begins as if ' the sword ' were to be the grammatical ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Anacoluthon on Dictionary.com!Search for Anacoluthon on Thesaurus.com!Search for Anacoluthon on Google!Search for Anacoluthon on Wikipedia!

Search