chiasmus

[ kahy-az-muhs ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Rhetoric.

, plural chi·as·mi [kahy-, az, -mahy].

a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.”

chiasmus

/ kaɪˈæzməs; kaɪˈæstɪk /

rhetoric reversal of the order of words in the second of two parallel phrases
he came in triumph and in defeat departs

1870–75; < Greek chiasmós, equivalent to chi chi ¹ + -asmos masculine noun suffix, akin to -asma; chiasma

C19: from New Latin, from Greek khiasmos crisscross arrangement; see chiasma

There is chiasmus here, since privata is contrasted with honoratis and quieta with claris.

For the more complicated forms of chiasmus consult Ngelsbach, Stil.

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