anacoluthon
/ænəkəˈluːθɒn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!""
Etymology
From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: anacolūthon, ἀνακόλουθον