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anacoluthon
[ an-uh-kuh-loo-thon ]
/ ˌæn ə kəˈlu θɒn /
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noun, plural an·a·co·lu·tha [an-uh-kuh-loo-thuh]. /ˌæn ə kəˈlu θə/. Rhetoric.
a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as It makes me so—I just get angry.
an instance of anacoluthia.
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Origin of anacoluthon
1700–10; <Greek anakólouthon, neuter of anakólouthos not following, equivalent to an-an-1 + akólouthos marching together (a- together + kolouth-, gradational variant of keleuth- road, march + -os adj. suffix
Words nearby anacoluthon
anaclisis, anaclitic, anaclitic depression, anacoenosis, anacoluthia, anacoluthon, anaconda, Anacostia, Anacostia River, anacoustic, Anacreon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use anacoluthon in a sentence
A breakdown like this—an anacoluthon, as the grammarians call it—is nothing strange in Paul's style.
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Galatians|G. G. FindlayIt contains another anacoluthon (or incoherence of language), due to the surge of feeling remarked in ver.
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Galatians|G. G. FindlayThe anacoluthon in Mk iv, 31, is avoided by Matthew and Luke.
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels|Carl S. PattonAnacoluthon, a want of grammatical and logical sequence in the structure of a sentence.
British Dictionary definitions for anacoluthon
anacoluthon
/ (ˌænəkəˈluːθɒn) /
noun plural -tha (-θə)
rhetoric a construction that involves the change from one grammatical sequence to another within a single sentence; an example of anacoluthia
Word Origin for anacoluthon
C18: from Late Latin, from Greek anakolouthon, from anakolouthos not consistent, from an- + akolouthos following
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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